Hollywood is still reeling from the cancellation of the $90 million “Batgirl” movie. Now, one of the film’s directors claims he was blocked from Warner Bros. servers when he tried to record footage on his cell phone.
Per Collider, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah said during a recent interview with SKRIPT that they attempted to salvage some of the footage upon hearing that “Batgirl” would never see the light of day. But when they tried, the directors couldn’t access the project anymore.
Fallah said, “Adil called me and told me, ‘Go ahead! Shoot everything on your phone!’ I went on the server … and everything was blocked. There was no way to access the film. We were: ‘F***ing sh**!’ All the scenes with Batman we didn’t get to keep!”
The movie was abruptly canceled despite being in post-production and slated for a 2022 release. Then Warner Bros. execs chose to make the movie a tax write-off to recoup some of the funds they spent making it. It’s the most expensive Hollywood film ever canceled.
“Batgirl” starred Leslie Grace as the titular superhero. The studio has said all along that bad acting was not the issue, a claim which Arbi and Fallah reiterated during the interview. They also said the movie’s quality was good.
“It was not a talent problem on our part, the actress, or even the quality of the movie,” Fallah explained to SKRIPT. “We were right in the middle of editing, there was still a lot of work to be done! It was not like the movie was finished. But they told us it was a strategic change. New management. And they could save some cash.”
As The Daily Wire reported earlier this month, Warner Bros. made sure to state that Grace’s performance was not the problem.
“The decision to not release ‘Batgirl’ reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max,” a Warner spokesperson stated at the time.
“Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance.”
“We are saddened and shocked by the news. … As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences,” the directors agreed.
Fallah and Arbi said Grace “portrayed Batgirl with so much passion, dedication, and humanity” and said, “We wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film for themselves.”