It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard about WB’s Batgirl movie. Though we knew that Christina Hodson, who wrote Birds of Prey, had written a script, there’s been little to nothing in the way of news in months. However, recently, AT&T did surprise everyone at its Investor’s Day presentation, because amongst the graphics presented was a Batgirl logo. From that, we assumed it was a reference to the (presumably) shelved Batgirl flick. Well, it looks like following that pseudo-announcement, WB is ready to fast-track the flick when it unexpectedly announced that, according to Variety, the Bad Boys for Life directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah has been tapped to direct the upcoming Batgirl flick.
Based on perfunctory research, I’ve learned that the team is still relatively green in their career, as they’ve only directed four films in total. One of which, however, was the much-anticipated Bad Boys for Life, the third installment to the wildly popular franchise starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Hampered by the quarantine, the flick didn’t get to live out its full life at the box office but sold well enough. The critics also seemed to enjoy it with a 77% Fresh rating among critics at Rotten Tomatoes. (If you’re into that sort of thing, the audience score was much higher.) However, above all else, the flick showed that the relatively rookie team can manage a big blockbuster action flick.
Ba(t) Girl for Life?
Unfortunately, I’ve personally never seen any of their work, but if people are satisfied with their performance on BBfL, then we’ll at least get a decent Batgirl film. However, reading the Variety article, I learned that El Arbi and Fallah are currently the co-showrunners on the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. While I personally haven’t been the biggest fan of any of the Marvel-based series’ released on the House of Mouse streamer so far, I can’t deny that they’re well made. Marvel Studios knows how to pick its crew, so I have faith.
Apparently, the movie is being prepped specifically for HBO Max, which is a bit of a bummer. Batgirl certainly deserves a theatrical release. Hopefully, WB realizes the mistake it’s making and will change its mind soon.
While it may be a controversial opinion, I’m pretty bemused to see that WB didn’t go with a female director. There’re plenty of talented ladies that I’m sure would love to direct: Birds of Prey helmer, Cathy Yan. Or the Oscar award-winning Chloé Zhao. Once again, maybe Hollywood is seeing something I don’t see in them. I mean, even Marvel Studios chose them for their own female-led TV series, so far be it from me to criticize.
No release date has been given, so stay tuned to DKN for more updates.
What do you think? Are you excited for the Batgirl flick? Do you think Warner Bros. chose the right people to direct? Let me know your thoughts.
Source: Variety