Last year, Warner Bros. made the unprecedented move of canceling the DC film Batgirl despite already being in post-production. The decision was made as part of the company's cost-cutting measures and concerns over its lack of theatrical viability.
There is no doubt that its cancellation was very disappointing for everyone involved in the film as they poured their heart and soul into making it and the public won't be able to get a glimpse of Leslie Grace as the titular hero.
The film was also supposed to feature Michael Keaton's Batman following his return in The Flash and, based on what we've heard, it sounded like he was supposed to serve as a mentor for the young hero.
We will never know whether the film would have been a hit if it had been released in theaters, but one thing's for sure is that fans are still lamenting over it a year since the decision was made.
Now, the directors of the ill-fated project are opening up again about their thoughts on the cancellation a year later and the sadness that they felt after watching The Flash.
Why The Flash Made the Batgirl Directors Feel Sad After Watching
In an interview with Inverse, Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah opened up about the sadness that they felt after watching The Flash as it reminded them of how they were robbed of a chance to show the film to the public.
They also lamented that they were never given a chance to have the audience judge the film rather than the studio making a decision over its viability.
"We watched it and we were sad. We love director Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara, who produced the movie. But when we watched it, we felt we could have been part of the whole thing," El Arbi said.
"We didn't get the chance to show Batgirl to the world and let the audience judge for themselves. Because the audience really is our ultimate boss and should be the deciders of if something is good or bad, or if something should be seen or not."
None of us will ever know what the actual results of the film are so it is hard to tell whether it might have been right or not to cancel it due to its quality as a potential theatrical release. It was originally supposed to be an HBO Max exclusive back when it was being made.
It still doesn't stop the fact that the directors experienced a major career disappointment as their hard work will never be seen by the public, especially with a high-profile project like this that could have pushed their career momentum forward.
While the duo has moved on as they eventually worked on the fourth Bad Boys movie after the cancellation, you can tell in these comments that they still feel disappointed by the experience.
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Despite that, they also iterated in the interview that they are still open to getting another chance to direct a DC movie. "There's still a feeling of unfinished business," Bilall said.
Who knows, maybe James Gunn and Peter Safran will eventually hire them to direct one of their DCU projects and give them the redemption that they deserve after the setback. If that happens, it would be a great comeback for the duo.
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