The first and last episodes of Ms. Marvel proved that directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are more than capable of handling superhero action. After the finale, many viewers are excited to check out their work on DC’s Batgirl movie later this year. El Arbi and Fallah won’t be the first Marvel directors to cross over to the DC Universe. But while James Gunn was able to retain the humor from his Guardians of the Galaxy films (and even kick it up a notch) on The Suicide Squad, the Bad Boys For Life helmers couldn’t do the same thing when transitioning from Ms. Marvel to Batgirl. Luckily, it sounds like they still managed to bring their own style to Leslie Grace’s upcoming turn as Bruce Wayne’s protégé.
In a new interview with /Film, El Arbi and Fallah explained how their Batgirl approach differs from their work on Ms. Marvel. Barbara Gordon and Kamala Khan share a few characteristics—they’re both young women trying to leave their mark as vigilantes while also living in the shadow of more famous superheroes. But the similarities effectively stop there. That’s why the directors had to adjust their tactics accordingly, starting with the color palette and tone.
“Well, the thing is that it’s also an origin story, but obviously, Batgirl is in Gotham City,” said El Arbi. “So it’s going to be much darker than Ms. Marvel, and our main character is older. I mean, she’s not a teenager, she already has a job. But I think that we’re still going to try to have the same visual vibrancy that is our trademark, you could say, and homages to the comic book, homages also to the animated series of Batman and the Tim Burton movies. So that’s what we’re trying to do with that, but obviously, it’s going to be a bit darker than Ms. Marvel‘s world.”
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The Tim Burton influence is understandable, since Michael Keaton is reprising his role as the Dark Knight from Burton’s first two Batman films. But taking cues from Batman: The Animated Series, which continues to hold up as one of the best superhero cartoons ever produced, is bound to make a lot of fans very happy. Just don’t expect to see any of Barbara’s text messages come to life on streetlights or crosswalks.
Batgirl will premiere on HBO Max sometime in 2022.
Are you excited to see what El Arbi and Fallah bring to the story of Barbara Gordon? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Batgirl and the Birds Of Prey Vol. 1
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