Intergalactic Comics: Nicolas Winding Refn Wants To Direct A Batgirl Movie

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Nicolas Winding Refn Wants To Direct A Batgirl Movie

By Karen Valenzuela, @VictoriaNoir89

Nobody in the film industry tells a story like Dutch director Nicole Winding Refn, known best for his 2011 neo-noir hit Drive, starring Ryan Gosling. Refn’s films combine stunning visuals, unique storytelling, thrilling action, cool music, and typically a lot of violence.

His latest film, The Neon Demon, is his first female-led picture. It’s a welcome switch after films like Valhalla Rising, Bronson, Only God Forgives (also starring Ryan Gosling), and his crime drama trilogy Pusher which explores the underworld of Copenhagen through the eyes of three different protagonists. Refn’s films have been described by critics as “delectably nasty” while others have slammed his films for the sometimes excessive gore. It’s safe to say The Neon Demon has been received much in the same way–it has so far been praised and despised by critics in equal parts.

With The Neon Demon, starring Elle Fanning as an aspiring model who gets lost in the fame, fortune, and danger of the modeling industry, Refn has stepped into a world of gritty, strong, dangerous, and sometimes unhinged women. He’s arguably shown he can handle directing a female-led film.

And when he sat down with Business Insider to talk about The Neon Demon, he revealed he’d love to step out of the indie shadows to direct a superhero film. But which superhero did he choose?

None other than DC Comics’ Batgirl.

After last month’s announcement from Warner Bros. that Harley Quinn and other DC female heroes/villains would get their own flick in the coming years, it seems Batgirl is going to be on the bigscreen. Will she get her own title film? Will Nicolas Winding Refn be pegged by Warner Bros. to direct? It’s way too early to say.

Is it likely this will ever happen? Probably not. But it isn’t hard to imagine how absolutely rad a Batgirl movie would be with Refn at the reins.

Gotham under Refn’s direction would be bleak and covered in shadows, a neo-noir landscape that never sees the sun. The perfect place for bad guys to lurk and the perfect hunting ground for Batgirl. Imagine all of this with a soundtrack by composer Cliff Martinez, who excells in creating a neo-noir, dark, bleak atmosphere with elegance (and a lot of synth). And imagine Barbara Gordon in a leather jacket, running Gotham’s mostly empty and poorly lit library during the day and lurking in the city’s shadows at night. Too rad.

Will the arthouse filmmaker ever get his chance to direct a big-budget superhero film? DC has been looking at some pretty interesting directors to helm its future projects. Wonder Woman, the highly-anticipated title film about everyone’s favorite Amazonian warrior princess coming of age, is being directed by Patty Jenkins. She’s known for the award winning drama Monster (2003). Warner Bros. recently announced relatively lesser-known director Rick Famuyiwa will be helming The Flash’s upcoming title film. Famuyiwa was praised for 2015’s low-budget film Dope. So it isn’t that much of a stretch to imagine Nicolas Winding Refn getting his shot.

The Neon Demon (rated a very hard R) is now playing in theaters. And while Batgirl doesn’t officially have a role in any of the upcoming DCEU films, she’s rumored to be in a potential Birds of Prey movie and also in the female-centric Harley Quinn film WB recently announced.

Any other directors you’d like to see direct a Batgirl movie? Let us know in the comments!