‘Batgirl’ Directors Finally Break Silence on the Movie’s Cancelation

When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as CEOs of DC Studios last year, we knew nothing would be the same. Indeed, it didn’t take long for the studio to officially announce the end of the DC Extended Universe and the start of another cinematic universe, DCU, that will replace it as a soft reboot. That change in leadership led to the cancelation of the ‘Man of Steel’ sequel, ‘Wonder Woman 3,’ and Dwayne Johnson’s plans for his Black Adam. However, not only unproduced movies were the victims of this leadership change at DC Studios.

The former leadership of then-DC Films wanted to expand DCEU content on streaming as well, which led to the announcement of ‘Batgirl’ and ‘Blue Beetle.’ However, ‘Blue Beetle’ was later changed to have a theatrical release, and ‘Batgirl’ was ultimately canceled even though the project was already in post-production. Michael Keaton was also set to return as Batman since ‘Batgirl’ was supposed to continue the storyline set up in ‘The Flash,’ but that movie also reshot some scenes to make sure ‘Batgirl’ stays irrelevant to the franchise.

‘Batgirl’ directors talk about their canceled movie after watching ‘The Flash’

‘The Flash’ was initially supposed to write off Ben Affleck’s Batman and set up Michael Keaton as the new main DCEU Batman. However, those plans were changed. After watching ‘The Flash,’ the directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who directed ‘Batgirl’ while the project was still alive, opened up about ‘The Flash’ and their canceled movie as well.

“We watched it [‘The Flash’], and we were sad. We love director Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara, who produced the movie. But when we watched it, we felt we could have been part of the whole thing.

We didn’t get the chance to show ‘Batgirl’ to the world and let the audience judge for themselves. Because the audience really is our ultimate boss and should be the deciders of if something is good or bad, or if something should be seen or not.

Our movie was very different than ‘The Flash.’ That has a big fantasy component, ours was more grounded. More like Tim Burton’s Gotham City.”

Adil El Arbi for Insider

“I felt like a kid on set working with Keaton. I totally forgot that I was directing. There’s still a feeling of unfinished business.”

Bilall Fallah for Insider

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are Belgian directors best known for working on 2020’s ‘Bad Boys for Life.’ They are also directing the upcoming sequel, but the production is currently on hold due to the strikes. They also directed two episodes of ‘Ms. Marvel’ at Marvel Studios.

Before it was canceled, Batgirl was supposed to star Leslie Grace in the titular role, J. K. Simmons was supposed to reprise the role of DCEU’s James Gordon, and Brendan Fraser was set to play Firefly, the movie’s villain.

The budget of the movie was around $90 million dollars, and although Warner Bros. and DC Studios provided some so-called explanations on why the movie was canceled, the real truth behind this unprecedented movie may never be revealed.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Would you have watched ‘Batgirl’ if it was released as it was initially planned?