Batgirl Co-Director Celebrates Brendan Fraser’s Standing Ovation For The Whale

Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi is sending his love to Brendan Fraser, following the actor receiving a six-minute standing ovation at the recent Venice Film Festival. Arbi took to his Instagram stories to share the video of Fraser reaction to the ovation for his performance in the upcoming drama The Whale. In the caption, Arbi says that he can’t wait to see the film, and that “It was a great honor to work with this fantastic person! He deserves the BEST!!!” Arbi and his directing partner Bilall Fallah directed Fraser’s performance of Garfield Lynns / Firefly in Batgirl, which was unexpectedly scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery last month.

The Whale stars Fraser as Charlie, a 600-pound man who tries to reconnect with his daughter—played by breakout Stranger Things star Sadie Sink—years after having abandoned his family. Fraser and Sink are joined in the film by Hong Chau, Samantha Morton, and Ty Simpkins. Darren Aronofsky directed from a script by Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote the play the feature film is based on.

“I developed muscles I did not know I had,” Fraser told members of the media in attendance at Venice (via Variety). “I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed; it was like stepping off the dock onto a boat in Venice. That [sense of] undulating. It gave me appreciation for those whose bodies are similar. You need to be an incredibly strong person, mentally and physically, to inhabit that physical being.”

He added, “The torso piece was almost like a strait jacket with sleeves that went on, airbrushed by hand, to look identical as would human skin, right down to the hand-punched hair.”

Batgirl, meanwhile, would have starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, with JK Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner James Gordon, and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman. Also joining the cast was Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh, and Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai cast in currently-unknown roles.

“Leslie Grace is her namesake. She’s dynamic,” Fraser shared in a recent interview with Popverse. “She gave a great performance. She’s a stone-cold professional. You’re going to see more from her. And I’m looking forward to it.”

The Whale is currently scheduled for release in the United States on December 9th.