Joss Whedon steps away from upcoming Batgirl movie

Joss Whedon is no longer working on the upcoming Batgirl movie.

The filmmaker had taken on the project in March 2017, hoping to follow Wonder Woman's suit of female-lead superhero movies. However, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the director has exited the DC Extended Universe.

Said Whedon in a statement, "Batgirl is such an exciting project, and Warners/DC such collaborative and supportive partners, that it took me months to realize I really didn't have a story,"

Referring to DC president Geoff Johns and Warner Bros. Picture Group president Toby Emmerich, he added, "I'm grateful to Geoff and Toby and everyone who was so welcoming when I arrived, and so understanding when I…uh, is there a sexier word for 'failed'?"

Sources claim that the reason was departure was Whedon's inability to form a script to depict Batgirl within the DCEU. We'd earlier found out that the Batgirl film would take place in the New 52 universe with Batgirl resuming her identity after recovering from the horrific incidents of The Killing Joke.

Whedon's trouble with the story-line was said to be an issue of him being a male filmmaker. While Whedon may have created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he has been called out for not exactly proving his beliefs due to his depiction of Black Widow in The Avengers series.

However, there are also rumours about Whedon stepping down after accusations that his involvement in Justice League after Zack Snyder's departure due to a family tragedy (and rumoured firing) is what caused its downfall.

There is no update on who will helm the Batgirl movie but from the looks of it, Warner Bros will probably be looking for a female director to take on the project. But while they're at it, we hope they listen to our plea of not having the film be based on the New 52 universe!