Batgirl & Ms. Marvel Directors Explain the Difference Between DC and Marvel

Although Marvel and DC are two superhero universes with very distinct tones, Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah still carried much of their Ms. Marvel experience for the HBO Max film production. In an exclusive interview with our very own Carly Lane about Disney+’s latest MCU series, the directors also revealed that Batgirl is in its final stages of development.

While Marvel Studios productions are known for being lighthearted and colorful, the DC Universe usually approaches its superhero universe through darker lenses. According to El Arbi, that difference became even more evident when he and Fallah went from directing Ms. Marvel to helming Batgirl. Even so, since both productions are origin stories, there are also many similarities between the series and the upcoming film. As El Arbi explains it:

“If you talk about our experience with ‘Ms. Marvel’, it’s an origin story the same way ‘Batgirl’ is an origin story. It’s seeing that journey from somebody who’s totally not a superhero becoming a superhero. In that way, we had a lot of experience with ‘Ms. Marvel’ that we carry on on this project. But of course, there’s a big difference in the sense that Ms. Marvel is a teenager, in a colorful world, while Batgirl is a grown woman. She has a job, and she’s in Gotham City. It’s kind of darker. It’s Batman, the OG. Those worlds are different, but it’s very interesting to see how they become superheroes.”

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Batgirl is being directed by El Arbi and Fallah from a script by Christina Hodson, who wrote Birds of Prey and the upcoming The Flash. The film is expected to debut on HBO Max sometime this year, but no definite release date has been set. Fortunately, El Arbi has some good news for fans, as he and Fallah “are in the full editing process. We’re just editing the movie.”

While information about Batgirl’s plot is scarce, we know that J.K. Simmons will come back as Commissioner James Gordon, a part he played in both versions of Justice League. Michael Keaton is also part of the film’s cast, returning to a role he hasn’t played since 1992. Batgirl will also star Brendan Fraser as Batman’s classic villain Firefly, Ivory Aquino as the transgender vigilante Alysia Yeoh, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai.

Since Batgirl is in the final stages of its editing process, it shouldn’t take long for us to get a trailer. Meanwhile, stay tuned for our full interview with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah for Ms. Marvel, and watch the trailer for Ms. Marvel below: