Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah admitted they felt "sad" watching The Flash because their movie would have been next on the DCEU slate if Warner Bros. hadn't cancelled it last year.
In an interview with Insider, Adil and Bilall both recalled feeling a renewed sadness over their axed Batgirl movie while watching The Flash this summer because, they claimed, studio executives originally lined it up as the next DCEU release, coming before Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Joker: Folie à Deux.
"We watched it, and we were sad," Adil said. "We love director Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara, who produced the movie. But, when we watched it, we felt we could have been part of the whole thing. We didn't get the chance to show Batgirl to the world and let the audience judge for themselves. Because the audience really is our ultimate boss and should be the deciders of if something is good or bad, or if something should be seen or not.
"Our movie was very different than The Flash," he added, noting the contrast between the two DC titles. "That has a big fantasy component, ours was more grounded. More like Tim Burton's Gotham City."
Batgirl starred Leslie Grace as the titular character and would have featured a further turn from Michael Keaton in the role of Batman following his reprisal in The Flash. A set photo showed Grace and Keaton standing face-to-face in full costume in a scene that presumably played out at the film's funeral screening.
"It's the biggest disappointment of our careers," Adil said of the Batgirl experience. "As a fanboy, just to be in the presence of Keaton as Batman, that's just a privilege and an honour. But it's a bittersweet feeling."
Despite their lingering sadness over the situation, the directing duo said they would like to return to play in the DC Universe sandbox again if given the chance because, as a pair of self-proclaimed DC fans, they want to show audiences what they can bring to the table, whether that be with Batgirl or another project.
"There's still a feeling of unfinished business," Bilall said.
"Our love for DC, Batman, Batgirl, Gotham City, it's so big that, as fans, we could never say no to another project," Adil added. "If we got another chance to be part of it, we'd do it. We didn't get our day in court. We still want to make our case."
DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have debuted their plans for a revamped DCU, with Superman: Legacy marking the true big-screen beginning of the new era. However, Safran has already said he would welcome the opportunity to work with the writers and directors of Batgirl on future projects.
The next DC release is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which will apparently "blaze a trail forward" into the new DCU when it opens in theaters on December 20. The first teaser for the sequel garnered a largely positive reaction from fans, who lauded the return of Black Manta and his new comic-accurate costume.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
