Nicolas Winding Refn is known for some pretty offbeat fare, having directed movies like Bronson, Drive, and Only God Forgives. He's avoided blockbuster fare, but confirmed he'd consider taking a crack at the DCU in a new interview with Deadline.
"I would love to do Batgirl," he told the trade. "Because Wonder Woman is done, that one I thought was super heavy." However, the Danish native was quick to follow that by saying, "I don’t know if I’ll make an actual IP."
As for why he chose Batgirl, Refn explained, "The costumes, I love the aesthetics. A lot of Her Private Hell is my obsession with dolls, objects and how to move people around in space and time. I loved the objectification of objects, and superheroes and comic books, and that whole subculture. It’s where I come from. I collect Japanese toys, and I play with Legos."
While we'd bet DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are taking note of this, the chances of a Batgirl movie happening are likely slim. After all, that Caped Crusader's brand is somewhat tarnished by what happened in 2022.
Four years ago, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on Batgirl—even though principal photography had wrapped—leaving fans and filmmakers alike reeling. It was an unprecedented move and one that saw Ms. Marvel directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah's DC Comics adaptation labelled "unreleasable" by insiders who spoke to the trades.
Moviegoers had already endured the likes of Black Adam and The Flash, so it was hard to believe a title made for HBO Max could really be that awful. Ultimately, the prevailing theory was that David Zaslav chose to save money by scrapping the movie as a "tax write-off," with that considered a better option than attempting to recoup its costs from a small boost in streaming subscriptions.
There was also the small matter of Batgirl being part of a previous regime's vision for the DC Universe. After The Flash established him as the DCEU's main Batman, Michael Keaton was set to appear alongside Leslie Grace's Barbara Gordon as the Dark Knight. Batman Beyond and Crisis on Infinite Earths were expected to follow.
When DC Studios first announced its Batman reboot, The Brave and the Bold, the plan was to focus on Bruce Wayne training his son, Damian, as Robin. That suggested the Bat-Family already exists in the DCU, though Gunn has since admitted that the approach to the movie might have changed.
A big part of that may be down to backlash from fans who were disappointed that the stories of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake would likely be glossed over. The status of them and Barbara in the DCU isn't clear.
Do you think Refn would be a good fit for a Batgirl movie?