Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are holding their heads high after Warner Bros. Discovery controversially scrapped the $90 million-budgeted film earlier this month. The filmmakers have since received support from Marvel boss Kevin Feige and other Hollywood colleagues after WBD’s unprecedented move.
Furthermore, Adil & Bilall weren’t warned or consulted prior to the shocking decision and only learned about it through the news like the rest of the world. Initial reports suggested that WBD deemed Batgirl an "unsalvageable" disaster after it scored horribly with test audiences. The viewers apparently described Batgirl as a "bad TV episode."
However, these reports have been called into question as new details reveal that Batgirl tested the same as Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Batgirl just needed some tweaking, but WBD was on the fence about it for months and decided to just scrap the film altogether as it didn’t fit the studio’s new vision for the DC Extended Universe.
Adil & Bilall recently revealed that they did their best to salvage footage from Batgirl and convince WBD to reconsider, but to no avail. "We were just getting into post-production. We didn't have the special effects, there was still work, but right in the middle, [work was stopped]," Adil told the French website CNEWS. "We tried to convince the people at Warner, but they said no," the pair added.
However, even after this fiasco and WBD’s unprofessionalism, Adil & Bilall are willing to work with the studio again. "Inshallah [if God wills], as they say, we cross our fingers. If they call us, we are there," the duo said when asked if they’d make any more superhero movies, DC or Marvel.
Batgirl was "one of the best experiences we've had on set," the pair further added. "The experience was super nice. Michael Keaton, JK Simmons, Brendan Fraser, and especially Leslie Grace, who was superb in the role."
Batgirl Cancelation Was Not About Quality But Rather an Overhaul of the DCEU
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are two of the most promising filmmakers working in Hollywood today. The fact that they’d make an unwatchable movie seems hard to swallow, especially considering their past work on blockbusters like Bad Boys for Life and Ms. Marvel. Their upcoming film, Rebel, premiered at the Cannes film festival this year.
Adil & Bilall told The Hollywood Reporter the same few days ago: that Batgirl’s cancelation was not due to quality issues.
"The guys from Warners told us, ‘it was not a talent problem from our part or the actress, or even the quality of the movie.’ They told us it was a strategic change. There was new management, and they wanted to save some money."
For those wondering how a studio could save money by shelving a $90 million movie, it all comes down to taxes. Batgirl was greenlit by the previous Warner Bros. regime and after the studio’s merger with Discovery+, the new management was entitled to a "tax write-down" on Batgirl as part of its post-merger strategy. WBD will recoup a significant sum of the budget as long as Batgirl never sees the light of day, which is bad news for fans.
Some skeptics still believe that all this is just an elaborate PR stunt and that Batgirl will get a Snyder Cut-like release in the future. Unfortunately, Batgirl is going to be locked away forever in a vault soon, and WBD is organizing "funeral screenings" for the cast and the crew.
News also broke out yesterday that the upcoming DC releases Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom have been delayed, but The Flash seems to be on schedule for now. Let’s hope no other movie suffers the same fate as Batgirl in the future.