Batgirl Directors Hopeful Brendan Fraser's Oscar Buzz Saves Film

There's some hope that an Oscar win by Brendan Fraser for The Whale will give a second life to the recently-shelved Batgirl film. Fraser was cast to play the Batman villain Firefly in Batgirl opposite Leslie Grace by the directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Batgirl was slated to be an HBO Max original movie set in the DC Extended Universe, and also recruited Michael Keaton to return as the Dark Knight. However, Warner Bros. Discovery made the unpopular decision to scrap Batgirl for tax purposes. With the chances of Batgirl being released to the public looking slim, El Arbi and Fallah are hanging their hopes on the buzz surrounding Brendan Fraser and The Whale. 

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah spoke to Variety for their new film, Rebel. During the discussion, the directors were asked about Brendan Fraser and Batgirl. "He is so, so talented," Adil El Arbi said. "The way he played that character… It was one of the most memorable villains, so we'll see. Maybe when he wins his Oscar they'll want to show the movie."

"[Fraser] is the nicest guy I've ever met in my life," Bilall agreed while reminiscing about shooting Batgirl in Glasgow, Scotland. "I never had an experience like that, the whole city was working with us to make it possible. I hope we can get back."

When Warner Bros. Discover shelved Batgirl, the company cut off El Arbi and Fallah from the footage. At the time, El Arbi said, "I went on the server… Everything was gone." His tone has changed slightly, hinting that there may be some extra footage lying around: "We might have it somewhere," he said.

Brendan Fraser Brought to Tears Over The Whale Performance

Darren Aronofsky and the cast of The Whale debuted the film at the Venice International Film Festival in September. The subsequent standing ovation for the feature, a tradition of the film festival, left The Whale lead Brendan Fraser in tears. 

After the filmmaker spoke with some of the cast members, he introduced Fraser to the crowd, which erupted in louder applause. According to those in attendance, the standing ovation lasted for six minutes.

The Whale follows 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. Aronofsky directed from a script by Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote the play the feature film is based on.

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