Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have been hired by Warner Bros. to helm the DC movie Batgirl, which will revolve around the crime-fighting adventure of Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon.
Christina Hodson (Birds Of Prey) has written the script, with Kristin Burr (Disney’s upcoming Cruella) producing the movie.
Joss Whedon was previously set to write and direct the film but he left the project after a year of development after explaining that he couldn’t come up with the right story. The film is being planned as an original movie for HBO Max.
El Arbi and Fallah just wrapped shooting on Ms. Marvel for Disney+, so they have experience in the superhero genre, and also don’t seem to mind hopping from Marvel to DC. Bad Boys For Life also ended 2020 as the highest grossing film at the American box office. Obviously it was a pandemic-affected year, but you’re usually in demand if your film makes $426 million worldwide.
It’s slightly surprising that Warner Bros. wasn’t courting a female director for the project. Hodson’s involvement after her work on Birds Of Prey is a big plus though. Burr said of the project in a statement:
“With Batgirl, we hope to take the audience on a fun ride and see a different side of Gotham. Christina’s script is crackling with spirit. Adil and Bilall have an excited and joyous energy which is infectious, making them the perfect filmmakers for this Batproject. And I’m just psyched I get to be part of the DC universe, which is super cool”.
Now that Warner Bros. are no longer forcing their DC superhero films to be a part of a huge cinematic universe á la the MCU, it will be interesting to see what sort of standalone story Hodson has come up with. Free from the shackles of helping to craft a wider franchise should hopefully allow for a stronger narrative, as was the case in Birds Of Prey.
El Arbi and Fallah are currently in production on a family drama titled Rebel, which follows a 13-year-old boy whose life stands at a crossroads following the death of his father. They’ll likely head to working on Batgirl once production wraps on that.
The character of Batgirl has had many iterations throughout comic book history, and it’s unclear right now what age she’s supposed to be. Will she be a more experienced, older Batgirl? Or a younger version still getting used to the cape? We’ll likely get our answer once casting word arrives.
#Peace.Love.Batgirl
