Batgirl Directors Tried To Pirate Film Before HBO Max Banned Them Out Of Servers

The Streamer Decision To Scrap The Film

The creators behind HBO Max’s Batgirl say they were so stunned by the streamer’s decision to scrap the movie that they tried logging onto the server and recording their work on a cell phone before quickly revoking their access.

Directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah recounted how they learned the shocking and painful news in a video posted to their Instagram accounts Wednesday afternoon.

The Scarification Of Two Upcoming Feature-Length Projects

The movie was one of two upcoming feature-length projects sacrificed as the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery undergoes a vast corporate restructuring. By canceling and shelving the film, the conglomerate can write it off as a loss and lower its tax burden while focusing on its sky-high debt.

In an interview for the YouTube channel SCRIPT posted on Monday, the directors said Warner execs assured them it was not a talent problem on our part, the actress, or even the quality of the movie.

The abrupt cancellation disappointed fans eagerly awaiting another entry into the DC Extended Universe. Shot entirely in Glasgow, to the chagrin of some local businesses, the film was also expected to serve as a star vehicle for singer Leslie Grace, who appeared in the pandemic-delayed musical In the Heights to positive reviews.

Directors Previous Report

As previously reported, the directors, born in Belgium, were in Morocco for El Arbi’s wedding at the time. In Wednesday’s video, Fallah stops to acknowledge the terrible timing: Congratulations, bro, he tells his creative partner.

When they got the call, Fallah was in Tetouan visiting his grandparents’ grave, while Fallah was an hour away in Tangier, enjoying his on-site honeymoon with his wife.

The duo was still putting the finishing touches on the superhero flick, adding that they were missing all the visual effects and hadn’t yet completed the necessary re-shoots. With both of them out of the country for what was supposed to be a celebration, they tried to get ahold of all their footage before the studio locked them out of the remote server that held their movie.

The Directors At The Daily Beast

When the axing first became public, a source close to the directors told The Daily Beast that it was all due to money. The film was conceived as a direct-to-streaming movie, meaning that the production was far less flashy, though not much less expensive, than a theatrical film.

It’s a strategy that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav finds very little justification for, considering that putting movies online draws significantly less revenue than putting them on the big screen.

That’s a problem because Zaslav is charged with lowering Warner’s $50 billion debt, a priority that has led to massive layoffs at HBO Max and the outright removal of many shows from the platform as it pursues more tax write-downs and the slashing of residuals.

The Report About The Movie Total Cost

It’s the final fuck you to Jason Kilar. A source told The Daily Beast earlier this month that this is not about art and financial engineering. It’s not a $90 million movie, and it’s $60 to $70 million, disputing the reports about the movie’s total cost.

It was built as a small movie for the streamer. They’d have to spend another $40 million in special effects to do it theatrically, making it bigger and even more money in marketing and distribution. Grace, for her part, addressed the cancellation in an Instagram post on August 3.

On the heels of the recent news about our movie ‘Batgirl,’ I am proud of the love, hard work, and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over seven months in Scotland, she wrote. To every Thank You for love, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, my damn hero!

Also Read:Batgirl: Kevin Smith calls the cancellation of the Latina-led film an incredibly bad look

 Batgirl Fans

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a few industry insiders will be lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the Batgirl cut at secret ‘funeral screenings’ on the Warner Bros. lot.

Anne Peterson

Anne Peterson is a budding writer who is interested in Hollywood movies. She covers most of the trending news in Hollywood for the website MovieThop. She always has a curious zest about the celeb’s lives. She now writes and keeps the audience updated.
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