‘Batgirl’ Getting Axed Was “Biggest Disappointment” of Directors’ Careers

Batgirl will likely never see the light of day after it was indefinitely shelved, despite the fact that the film had already been completed and was in the midst of test screenings. It’s something that still weighs heavily on the movie’s directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The filmmaking duo shared their thoughts they have on the situation, reflecting on the movie’s cancelation in a recent interview with The Messenger.

“It’s difficult to 100 percent get over it,” El Arbi says. “Obviously, there are worse things in life. We’re Moroccans, and we see what’s happening now in Morocco with the earthquake, so that gives everything perspective. But, professionally, it’s the biggest disappointment of our careers. We’ve been going back and forth between the emotions because you want to give the DC fandom and the audience what they want. You want them to judge the movie for themselves, but, at the same time, it was an experience that was a big honor to be part of.”

Frustrated that the fans won’t be able to see the film everyone had worked so hard on, El Arbi says he tries to focus on the positives of the Batgirl situation. As he explains, it was still an honor to be a part of the project, and both directors are grateful for the experience, along with the bonds that have come out of it.

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“Leslie Grace gave a fantastic performance, and I hope we get to work with her again,” the director explains. “Her Barbara Gordon had a lot of humanity and vulnerability, but also strength, and it’s really a character that grows, and when you see the movie, you aspire to become like her. And Michael Keaton as Batman, it was a dream come true just to meet him, and then to able to be with him as he’s Batman, with the Batmobile. And obviously, Brendan Fraser gave a fantastic performance.”

He added, “So, to have these guys in our lives now, sometimes we just choose the positive aspect of it and think, ‘Okay, we are grateful that we were allowed to have these people as our friends and in our lives.’ And who knows, maybe in the future, Inshallah, we’ll be allowed to go back to Gotham City.”