Back in November 2021 Pedro Almodóvar broke ranks from snooty art house directors and said he’d love to direct a superhero movie. It comes on the heels of directors such as Martin Scorsese, Jane Campion, and Ridley Scott voicing their dislike of the caped blockbusters, with the latter, director of Blade Runner and Alien, succinctly dubbing them “f*cking boring as sh*t”.
But Almodóvar sounded more positive, saying at a festival screening of Parallel Mothers that he wants to take on Batgirl:
“I would like to do something with Batgirl, but I would have to do it in my own way.”
Now Almodóvar mainstay Penélope Cruz has been asked if she’s interested and instantly responded positively, saying in an interview with Variety:
“That sounds so cool. I don’t even need to read that script… I haven’t done that genre, but with Pedro it would be revolutionary.”
Let’s face it, his Batgirl movie probably isn’t ever going to get made. For one, Warner Bros has a Batgirl movie that’s just wrapped and will arrive on HBO Max later this year. In addition, Almodóvar’s idiosyncratic and sexually-charged style would make his Batgirl quite the eye-opener, and Warner Bros has already clamped down hard on the Bat family’s bedroom antics.
However, it is worth noting that they have become a little more adventurous. Joker was a Batman-free psychological drama very different from any preceding version of the character, dealt with controversial themes, and went on to box office and awards-season success.
Perhaps if Warner Bros really wanted to make some headlines, they’d hand over the Batgirl license to Almodóvar and see what happens? Even if they didn’t, we want to know more about the kind of story he had in mind for Barbara Gordon.
Bat-fingers firmly crossed we one day hear more.
Published: Apr 7, 2022 06:10 am