Under capitalism, firms invest in production to turn a profit, and that’s how things get made. Defenders of capitalism are adamant that this is the only way to incentivize production and meet consumer demand. According to them, it’s doubtful that without the profit motive anything would be created at all.

But the story of Batgirl turns that logic on its head.

In March, filming wrapped on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Batgirl movie, due for release on the HBO Max streaming platform in December. In April, lead actress Leslie Grace gave an interview to Variety about the film. She was particularly excited about working alongside major stars like J. K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, and Michael Keaton, who was returning to the role of Batman after thirty years. In July, Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah gave an interview to /Film, remarking how their movie would differ in tone from their work on the recent hit streaming series Ms. Marvel for Disney+.