Batgirl was famously struck down before it could ever see the light of day, and it’s likely to become the most famous flop in Hollywood. But the huge uproar surrounding Batgirl’s cancelation might have proved to be something positive for the film’s directors. Belgium filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have become quite the hot topic since Batgirl was shelved. All the news surrounding their film’s loss has helped push their UK movie Rebel into a bigger spotlight, and according to Arbi and Fallah, there are bigger deals on the way.

But the DCU might not be done with them. Despite Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s huge cost-cutting measures, Arbi and Fallah received much attention from the artistic community after the cancellation of Batgirl. Filmmakers like Edgar Wright called to offer their support, as well as studio execs from places like Paramount and Sony, and even Kevin Feige got in touch with the directors. But one big name who reached out to them was James Gunn. He was only a director back then, but now he runs all of DC Studios. With the head of DC behind them, and a willingness to work for them again, Batgirl’s directors might still have a chance at making a mark on the DC universe.

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Batgirl’s Directors Are Open to Working with the DCU

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Despite their disappointment, and even the world’s disappointment, after seeing Batgirl canceled, it’s still very possible that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah might work for DC. They recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the issue. They told it like it was for any superhero movie-maker who just got their project canceled. A project they had been dreaming of making for a long time had just been ripped out of their hands, one they had worked so hard on.

Naturally, it must be a huge blow to any filmmaker to have their work canceled, especially right before it was nearly finished. But this sleight wasn’t taken personally. The Batgirl directors are still open to working for Warner Bros. under one condition:

But that might be a big promise from the studio, especially considering its financial state. Having your movie canceled doesn’t mean the end of your career. Arbi and Fallah just ended up in the middle of a crossfire between David Zaslav and his new company. This was a huge cost-cutting measure made largely to show that the studio would no longer be working for peanuts or producing films to cover production costs. Zaslav likely canceled Batgirl to show that he would begin demanding a higher quality of film, and Batgirl was a movie that would create a lot of stir to drive home his message.

“Yeah, we’d still work with them. But on the condition that the movie comes out. I mean, if Warner says, ‘Do you want to do the next Batman or Superman?,’ of course we’ll say yes. Just so long as the movie comes out!”

Support from Gunn and Batman Beyond

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After the downfall of Batgirl, artists and studio executives from all across the industry reached out to offer their condolences, and it quickly became one of the most famous flops in Hollywood history. One of those artists who called turned out to be James Gunn, now the current head of DC Studios. Given that he is in control of the entire DC narrative going forward, it isn’t unreasonable to think that Gunn might give the two directors another bite at the proverbial apple when it comes to Batman. And apparently, there might be something in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which noted:

“[…] while Gunn reached out individually to offer his support, there hasn’t yet been a more formal meeting with him since he’s been installed as DC Studio’s co-CEO. “But the meetings are in the books,” says Arbi.”

Then there’s the mysterious Instagram post from Arbi. After receiving some attention, the director posted an image from the famous animated series Batman Beyond. Though it’s nothing but a picture, the director said this:

Technically, it is possible that Arbi and Fallah could direct another DCU movie. Getting to make a movie like Batman Beyond in the future is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a cult part of Batman lore that fans would love to see adapted into the DCU. But it’s more likely that these are all rumors. After getting more media attention, the director has taken down the Instagram post. This could be a sign that goes either way, depending on if your glass is half empty or half full.

“You know, maybe in the future … when Batman is not being made by Matt Reeves … . Batman Beyond is really super cool. And I just saw that and thought that’s really badass,” says Arbi. “So who knows? Maybe in the future one day if they ask us to do that, we wouldn’t say no. But you can dream, right?”

It could mean he had a meeting with James Gunn, and the post was too much of a hint of what they talked about, or it could just mean that a Batman Beyond photo caused too much of a ruckus in media outlets. Either way, it seems like we’ll be seeing a lot more from directors Arbi and Fallah in the future.