Last year, director James Gunn was appointed as the chief of DC Studios along with Peter Saffran, in order to give a creative direction to the mess that was the DCU. Gunn revealed his grand plan for a connected cinematic universe early this year, which would act as a soft reboot of the established DCU kickstarted by Zack Snyder.
However, the new and improved franchise came at the cost of already greenlit films that were canceled. For the director duo Adil & Bilall, it was a double blow as their film Batgirl, which was in the post-production stage was canceled, while they also lost the opportunity to direct the sequel Beverly Hills Cop IV starring Eddie Murphy.
Why Does Batgirl Have No Place In James Gunn’s DCU?
Before James Gunn took over the reins of the DC franchise, the mismanagement of the studio and the lack of creative direction were a huge roadblock for the films. One of the biggest blows to the franchise came when Justice League bombed at the box office and was the subject of one of the largest social media campaigns in history.
However, the mismanagement did not stop there. In 2022, Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company heading DC and HBO Max announced that they had canceled a slate of their films in order to cut costs. The canceled films included Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s Batgirl, which had already wrapped filming and was in the post-production stage.
The film was intended for an HBO Max release but was canceled after WB Discover announced that they would be focussing on theatrical release and big event films. It was also revealed that the studio opted to cancel Batgirl as they found that canceling the film would recuperate the costs as a tax write-off instead of a release.
James Gunn’s new DCU also does not seem to have space for the film. Peter Saffran also reportedly mentioned that though they were saddened by the news, the film would not have worked in the theatres and was better suited for a TV space. Hence, Batgirl had no place in the slate of films that Gunn had planned for the DCU.
Batgirl Directors Lost The Chance To Film With Eddie Murphy
The cancelation of Batgirl was one of the biggest instances of mismanagement from Warner Bros studio and was criticized by many industry insiders. The shocking news of the film’s cancelation reportedly came to directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah when they were in Morocco to attend El Arbi’s wedding.
The duo, who has previously directed the action film Bad Boys For Life, were also hired to direct the fourth sequel to comedian Eddie Murphy’s celebrated comedy series Beverly Hills Cop. However, Adil & Bilall had to depart from the project to focus on Batgirl as the former film had been in development since 2016.
However, the duo got a shock when Batgirl was canceled before completion. They lost both high-profile projects which was reportedly a painful experience for the Belgian duo. In a recent interview with The Messenger, Adil El Arbi said,
“It’s total chaos. It’s like everything that we are connected to is pretty special. Beverly Hills Cop 4, we were going to do it, but then Batgirl came along and we had to choose. And by choosing Batgirl, we lost Beverly Hills Cop, so it’s pretty painful that we lost Batgirl. But I’m prepared because every time you think, ‘Oh, I’ve been through the worst,’ there’s something else coming up. It’s like the never-ending story.”
The duo are now awaiting the release of their personal film Rebel and have also completed filming for the fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise. Beverly Hills Cop IV was directed by Mark Malloy and is yet to be released.
Also read: Who is Eve Teschmacher? – The Godfather Writer’s Creation Enters James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy
