Batgirl Directors Still Open to Working With Warner Bros. After Film’s Cancellation

Last year, DC fans and the world of superhero movies were stunned when Warner Bros. announced that the Batgirl movie had been cancelled with the Leslie Grace starring film shelved entirely as a tax write down rather than be released in theaters or on HBO Max. It was a heartbreaking announcement for more than fans, too. Those involved with the film were devastated as well, especially directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. However, despite the experience with Batgirl, the duo is still open to working with Warner Bros., though in the future they’d want a guarantee that the project would actually see the light of day.

“We’re fans of DC, and if we get the chance in the future to do something in that universe, we’re never gonna say no,” El Arbi said at the Red Sea Film Festival in December (via Variety). “I mean, of course, our only condition is that the movie needs to come out.”

The pair had a similar response when ComicBook.com spoke with them last month as well.

“We’d love to work for a DC project in the future, but the one request is that the movie comes out. That’s the only request,” the pair said, with Bilall making it clear that “We are still fans of the DC universe.” 

Will Batgirl ever be released?

Given that Batgirl, along with an animated sequel to Scoob!, was cancelled for tax purposes, it’s incredibly unlikely that the film will ever see the light of day. Very broadly, one of the conditions of such tax write downs is that none of the footage can be monetized be that via release or selling it to another studio. That said, some people are still hopeful that Batgirl may someday see release — particularly now that one of the film’s stars, Brendan Fraser, is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for his performance in The Whale.

“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.”

Would you like to see the Batgirl directors work with DC in the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section?