'Saddened and shocked,' says 'Batgirl' makers after film got shelved

Aug 04, 2022

Washington [US], August 4 : Hollywood director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have now shared their reaction to 'Batgirl' being shelved by Warner bros. despite the movie being fully shot and in post-production.
Taking to Instagram, the 'Bad boys for life' director duo shared a heartfelt note, which reads, "We are saddened and shocked by the news. We still can't believe. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha'Allah."

The statement continues, "Our amazing cast and crew did a tremendous job and worked so hard to bring Batgirl to life. We are forever grateful to have been part of that team. It was a dream to work with such fantastic actors like Michael Keaton, J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Jacob Scipio, Corey Johnson, Rebecca Front and especially the great Leslie Grace, who portrayed Batgirl with so much passion, dedication and humanity."
"In any case, as huge fans of Batman since we were little kids, it was a privilege and an honour to have been a part of the DCEU, even if it was for a brief moment. Batgirl for life," the statement concludes.
According to Variety, Warner Bros.'s decision to not release the movie was not driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers. Instead, the new regime at Warner Bros. Discovery wants its DC superhero features to be at a blockbuster scale, which "Batgirl" was not because it was originally conceived specifically for streaming on HBO Max.
Meanwhile, now the film will not be released on theatres or on HBO Max.