It doesn’t happen every day that an almost completely finished film with blockbuster potential is canceled shortly before. But that’s exactly what’s happening with “Batgirl”. The film’s directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, no longer understand the world.
After the surprising end of the “Batgirl” film, the directors of the project have spoken out. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known among others for “Bad Boys for Life” and “Ms. Marvel”, published a joint statement on Instagram. They were “sad and shocked” by the news, it said.
“We still can’t believe it,” the two write. For them as directors it is important that their work is shown to the public. While the film is far from complete, they wish fans had the opportunity to see the finished film. Since the two have been “huge fans of Batman” themselves since childhood, it was still an honor for them to be able to be a part of the comic world in the DC Extended Universe, at least for a short time.
It had previously become known that the Warner Bros. film distributor would not like to show “Batgirl” either in the cinema or via the HBO Max streaming service. Citing insiders, the industry magazine “Variety” reported that the decision was not based on the quality of the material. The film is said to have already been completely shot and has so far cost between 70 and 90 million US dollars.
Rather, the company management wants to focus more on real cinema blockbusters again, it is said. “Batgirl”, on the other hand, was intended for the streaming market. In test screenings, the strip is also said not to have been well received.
The decision is also surprising because several big names were linked to the project. The cast included J.K. Simmons, Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser. Leslie Grace played the lead role of Barbara “Babs” Gordon aka Batgirl.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah say they believe the cast and crew worked hard and did a fabulous job. “It was a dream to work with such amazing actors as Michael Keaton, J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Jacob Scipio, Corey Johnson, Rebecca Front and especially the amazing Leslie Grace who portrayed Batgirl with such passion, dedication and humanity.” , explain the directors.
Grace also responded to the film’s cancellation on Instagram. “To every ‘Batgirl’ fan, thanks for the love and faith and for allowing me to put on the cape and, as Babs put it best, ‘become my own fucking heroine’!” she explains.
The 27-year-old also shared some photos and videos from the shoot. “I’m proud of the love and hard work that everyone involved and the tireless crew put into this film over seven months in Scotland,” she wrote.
