Kevin Smith is one of a number of directors who have weighed in over the decision by Warner Bros to cancel the release of its completed Batgirl movie.
Speaking on his YouTube series Hollywood Babble-On, Smith said: “It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina Batgirl movie. I don’t give a shit if the movie was absolute fucking dogshit – I guarantee you that it wasn’t. The two directors who directed that movie did a couple of episodes of Ms Marvel, and it was a wonderful fucking show and they had more money to do Batgirl than they had to do an episode of Ms Marvel and stuff.”
Batgirl was scrapped last week by Warner Bros Discovery. No explanation has been given, however, CEO David Zaslav said: “We’re not going to launch a movie until it’s ready.” Speculation that the film’s poor quality was the reason behind the move has been questioned by some in favour of the theory it was more cost-effective for the studio to bury the film.
Theories have been circulating that marketing and promotional costs would have been considerable, and the tax incentive for suppression could have outweighed the goodwill and potential profits that would have come from a release. However, Warner Bros are yet to comment on this speculation.
Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi revealed on Instagram over the weekend that several high-profile Hollywood names had reached out to him and fellow director Bilall Fallah in the wake of the cancellation.
Arbi shared an email from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who had previously commissioned the pair on Ms Marvel.
“My friends, I had to reach out and let you know we are all thinking about you both,” Feige wrote. “Because of the wonderful news about the wedding (congrats!) and the disappointing news about Batgirl. Very proud of you guys and all the amazing work you do and particularly Ms Marvel of course! Can’t wait to see what is next for you. Hope to see you soon.”
Other directors who had offered their support included Edgar Wright and James Gunn. “Your kind words and experience mean a lot and help us through this difficult period,” wrote Arbi.
Both Wright and Gunn have had unfortunate experiences with superhero movies. Wright was for many years attached to Ant-Man, but left the project shortly before production due to “creative differences”.
Meanwhile Gunn was fired from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 after unfortunate tweets by the director resurfaced, for which he later apologised. After many stars and fans voiced their support for Gunn, he was reinstated.
