Kevin Smith Is Pissed That ‘Batgirl’ Won’t Play In Theaters

Some would argue that straight-to-streaming might be the new straight-to-DVD, and not everyone is happy about it. At least not when it comes to a movie like Batgirl, the upcoming superhero feature directed by Bad Boys for Life helmers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (collectively known as Adil & Bilall). It was recently announced that the movie will forego a theatrical release and head straight to HBO Max, a decision that did not sit right with noted filmmaker/comic book enthusiast/‘Bennifer’ originator Kevin Smith. In the latest episode of his podcast Fatman Beyond, Smith made it clear that he thinks the decision to skip theaters is really, really stupid.

Speaking to his co-host Marc Bernadin, Smith took a moment to go off on an expletive-filled rant about the shortsightedness of this decision, saying:

“I have to call the mayor of Hollywood… What are you nuts! How is this just a streaming series and not a f***ing… Like, they got Wonder Woman. But I’m like, take Wonder, throw in Bat, take Woman off, put Girl, make the same amount of money. Like they could be printing big f*cking dollars. It’s a billion-dollar franchise if handled correctly. And you cast it right, oh sh*t… Look, there are wonderful streaming series. I’ll fight anybody who says Hacks isn’t one of the greatest f***ing series of all-time, now airing on HBO—and I’m not even a paid f***ing advocate. I’m just a big fan. But I would not have thought they would take Batgirl in this direction. Maybe a spinoff animated series sure, but that smells like a movie to me.”

Though he later cut his billion-dollar estimate in half, Smith righty described Batgirl—who made her first appearance 60 years ago, in a 1961 comic—as “one of the most iconic female superheroes from the DC universe.”

Then, in an attempt to paint Batgirl’s significance in terms that non-comic book lovers could understand, Smith suggested: “You cast Olivia Rodrigo as Batgirl, a billion-dollar franchise right there.”

Bernadin, however, had a different idea: “Billie Eilish as Batgirl makes you a billion dollars.”

You can listen to their full podcast below.