Amid Batgirl's untimely cancelation, scores of fans have been offering their well-wishes and support for the film's cast and crew, including Marvel Studios President and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige.
On his Instagram story, Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi shared a screenshot an email sent to him and co-director Bilall Fallah by Feige. "My friends I had to reach out and let you know we are all thinking about you both. Because of the wedding (congrats!) and the disappointing news about Batgirl," Feige wrote. "Very proud of you guys for all the amazing work you do and particularly Ms. Marvel of course! Can't wait to see what is next for you. Hope to see you soon." El Arbi captioned the image with a message of gratitude for the Marvel CCO: "thanks brother Kevin."
Warner Bros. shocked the film industry by abruptly shelving the upcoming Batgirl movie, which was meant to release on HBO Max and was estimated to have cost between $70 and $100 million. In a Q2 earnings call held on Aug. 4, Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav indicated that part of the reasoning behind Batgirl's cancellation was to "protect the DC brand."
The Batgirl directors, known professionally as Adil & Bilall, broke their silence on the film's cancelation with a joint statement released on Instagram. "We are saddened and shocked by the news. We still can't believe it," the co-directors wrote. "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." They went on to thank fans before signing off with, "Batgirl For Life." Following the cancellation, fans have rallied on social media calling for Warner Bros. to reverse its decision, using the hashtags #ReleaseTheBatgirlMovie and #SaveTheBatgirlMovie.
Adil & Billal have been making waves in the film industry ever since the release of Bad Boys for Life, the duo's first major studio feature. The fourth film in the Bad Boys series revived the franchise by becoming its highest-grossing entry and the fourth highest-grossing film of 2020, earning nearly $430 million. The directors were hired to shepherd Batgirl in May 2021 and went on to direct two episodes of Ms. Marvel for Disney+.
Despite Batgirl's cancelation, Warner Bros.'s official statement expresses the studio's desire to work with the film's creative team again. "We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and [the also canceled] Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts," the studio wrote. "And we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."
Batgirl was set for a straight-to-streaming release on HBO Max at the time of its termination.
Source: Instagram