In August 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) made an unprecedented move by canceling the Batgirl movie, which had already completed filming. The movie, which was slated for release as a Max Original, fell victim to the cost-cutting measures and became one of the most expensive canceled projects. The film even featured both young and veteran acting talents, including Leslie Grace, J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, and Michael Keaton.
The plans for the film began back in 2017 when Joss Whedon was initially hired to write and direct the project. Later, Christina Hodson replaced Joss Whedon as the writer, and in 2021, the Bad Boys directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, were brought on board to direct the film.
The Young Directors Had To Make A Tough Decision For Batgirl
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had long been devoted fans of the DC character. The two filmmakers were already attached to another sequel project when they were hired for Batgirl. The directors were set to direct the fourth installment in the iconic Beverly Hills Cop franchise. Beverly Hills Cop starred Eddie Murphy in the lead role as street-smart detective Axel Foley.
The first movie, Beverly Hills Cop, was released in 1984, gaining global recognition for Murphy. It became the highest-grossing U.S. film of that year, raking in $234 million at the domestic box office. The success of the film spawned two sequels in 1987 and 1994. The franchise grossed a worldwide total of $712 million at the box office. However, the financial and critical failure of the third film caused delays in the production of a planned fourth film.
Multiple release dates were announced and several directors were considered for Beverly Hills Cop IV. In 2016, the project landed in the hands of El Arbi and Fallah, who had been involved in its development despite numerous setbacks. In 2021, when the directors assumed the helm of Batgirl, speculations arose about their commitment to the Eddie Murphy franchise. While the directors initially assured their involvement, they later made the painful decision to depart from Beverly Hills Cop IV to fully focus on Batgirl.
The Directors Were Devastated To Lose Both Beverly Hills Cop IV And Batgirl
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were deeply saddened and shocked by WBD’s announcement to shelve their Batgirl project. This came as a double blow to the Belgian directors, as they lost two precious projects amidst the Hollywood drama. During an interview with The Messenger, the Black directors humorously remarked that they could make a movie out of their sad situation. Fallah told The Messenger:
“Yeah, you can almost make a movie about all of this. For real, we need to star as ourselves.”
El Arbi added that making Belgian movies was relaxed compared to the chaos in Hollywood. He told The Messenger:
“We talk to our agent and managers and say, “You know, Belgium movies, everything’s chill, it’s calm, so what’s the drama over there all the time?” So it’s really Hollywood — it’s Hollywood drama.”
Peter Safran, who took over DC Studios in November 2022, also commented on the Batgirl film. Safran stated that the studio was focused exclusively on theatrical releases and Batgirl was unreleasable in theaters. While appreciating the actors involved in the film, Safran explained that the movie had been made exclusively for a streaming release.
A release date for Eddie Murphy’s fourth film in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, titled Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, remains to be announced.
Source: The Messenger
