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FILM & TV

Batgirl Directors “Shocked” After the Film’s Sudden Cancellation

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After the shocking revelation that Warner Bros. killed Batgirl, the film’s directors, Adil EL Arbi and Bilall Fallah opened out about their heartbreak on their social media. In their statement, they wrote, “We are saddened and shocked by the news. We still can’t believe it.”

On August 2, the breaking news that Batgirl would not be released on any platforms astonished all DC fans. The film, starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, with a budget around $90 million, was originally planned to stream exclusively on HBO MAX. Earlier this year, the film had already gone to its post-production stage. Though the test screening reportedly went poorly, studios seldom cut a film at this stage. The film was almost ready, and the company could at least get some revenue as long as they streamed it. While no big-budget IP has been buried like this before, Warner Bros. still decided to shelve the film.

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The studio told Variety that the “decision to not release the movie was not driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers. Instead, the new regime at Warner Bros. Discovery wants its DC superhero features to be at a blockbuster scale, which “Batgirl” was not because it was originally conceived specifically for streaming on HBO Max.” However, since Batgirl was created expressly for HBO Max streaming, it cannot live up to such expectations. Meanwhile, as a Variety report shows, tax incentives might also be a reason why Warner Bros. killed Batgirl.

The production team of Batgirl showed both heartbreak and appreciation for the film on social media. The two directors issued a statement on their Instagram, in which they claimed, “As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah.”

The pair goes on to state, “In any case, as huge fans of Batman since we were little kids, it was a privilege and an honor to have been a part of the DCEU, even if it was for a brief moment. Batgirl For Life.”

Warner Bros.’s decisions drew criticisms on Twitter. Batgirl is expected to be the most diverse superhero film in DCEU. Leslie Grace, a Dominican actress/singer, stars in the title role. Meanwhile, the Filipina American transgender actress Ivory Aquino will co-star in the film as Batgirl’s roommate. The film’s directors are Moroccan filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who also directed Marvel’s Ms. Marvel as well as Bad Boys for Life. Some fans start to doubt DC’s commitment to diversity.

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As a report in Forbes suggested, such behaviors might also increasingly harm the reputation of Warner Bros. as a filmmaker-friendly studio. Previously, when Chris Nolan took Oppenheimer to Universal, the narrative that “WB hates filmmakers” was already bolstered. Many have criticized the company’s working relationship with filmmakers.

No filmmaker wants their films to be suddenly axed. Maybe the studio is losing its goodwill among filmmakers. While the decision to cut the film is final, backlash from the decision may prove to be a much larger PR issue than anticipated. It looks like DC fans may have to wait a little longer before seeing a feature film from the DC Universe. Readers can stream DC films on HBOMax here.