The shocking revelation that Batgirl, a nearly finished picture starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman, would be removed from release stunned Hollywood—particularly those engaged in the film’s development, including filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige, who collaborated with the directorial pair on Ms. Marvel, wrote Bilall and Adil an email to assure them that he is on their side. “My buddies, I wanted to reach out and let you know we are all thinking about you both,” Feige wrote in the excerpt El Arbi posted on his Instagram story. Because of the good news about [El Arbi’s] wedding (congratulations!) and the bad news regarding Batgirl. I’m really proud of you guys for all of your fantastic efforts, especially Ms. Marvel! I’m excited to see what comes next for you. “I want to meet you again soon.”
El Arbi and Fallah, who previously directed Bad Boys for Life, are two of the friendliest, most passionate action filmmakers working today (see io9’s Ms. Marvel interview with them); they also provide a much-needed new viewpoint, not to mention some much-needed diversity, to the entertainment business. It’s amazing to see a Hollywood titan like Feige rally behind them, and it gives us optimism that they’ll be working with Marvel again soon.
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