Batgirl directors say movie's cancelation was a "traumatic experience"

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"Maybe when [Brendan Fraser] wins his Oscar they’ll want to show the movie"

Batgirl movie
(Image credit: Leslie Grace/Warner Bros.)

Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah spoke out about the movie's cancellation while presenting a new film at the Red Sea Film Festival.

"It was a traumatic experience," Fallah said at Deadline's Red Sea Studio. "[Al Arbi and I] went through all the emotions."

"At that time, it was pretty unprecedented, so it was like movie history, but in a crazy way," El Arbi added. "There was still a lot of work to be done but they just said it was financial decisions and so that’s that and the movie can never be released."

Speaking to Variety about Brendan Fraser's role in the film, El Arbi praised his performance and expressed his hope that Fraser's potential Oscar win for The Whale could revive interest in releasing Batgirl.

"The way he played that character… It was one of the most memorable villains, so we’ll see. Maybe when he wins his Oscar [for The Whale] they’ll want to show the movie," the director said. Fraser's upcoming film, which many have called a career-best, has generated quite a bit of Oscar buzz.

He added: "Should it maybe be released, there’s still a lot of work to be done and I don’t know if they are really going to go back for that."

Lauren Milici
Lauren Milici
Senior Entertainment Writer

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.