Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi has revealed that two legendary comic book movie filmmakers reached out in the wake of the shocking news that Warner Bros. is permanently cancelling the DCEU film’s release. The Leslie Grace vehicle was all ready to go before new studio chief David Zaslav pulled the plug on the project as part of his ambitious overhaul of the entire DC franchise.
Fans have been up in arms over the announcement on social media, and behind the scenes El Arbi and co-helmer Bilall Fallah have been receiving support from their peers in the industry, too. The former took to Instagram today to send a shout-out to both The Suicide Squad‘s James Gunn and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World‘s Edgar Wright for their “kind words and experience,” which El Arbi noted “mean a lot and help us through this difficult period.”
It’s no surprise that both Wright and Gunn reached out to Adil & Bilall in the wake of the Batgirl debacle as, aside from being good people, they can sympathize with what the pair are going through as they’ve similarly experienced the negative side of working within the high-pressure superhero sphere. Interestingly, in their cases, the problem was with DC’s rival, Marvel Studios.
Wright infamously worked on Ant-Man for years before he ultimately parted ways with the House of Ideas over creative differences, going on to be replaced by Peyton Reed. Gunn, meanwhile, was temporarily removed from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after a social media scandal. Obviously, however, in neither case did they make an entire movie that never actually saw the light of day. There aren’t many times that’s ever happened in the history of cinema.
What’s more, El Arbi has likewise revealed that Marvel chief Kevin Feige sent the duo an email, promising to “see you soon,” which might be an indication that, although their DC experience turned sour, the Batgirl directors could still return to the MCU instead.