Nicolas Winding Refn just threw his hat into the ring for one of Hollywood’s most cursed superhero properties. The Danish filmmaker casually volunteered to direct a DC’s Batgirl movie, apparently unaware that the last attempt never even saw the light of day.

Nicolas Winding Refn wants to make a Batgirl movie

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn told Deadline at Cannes that he would “love to do Batgirl” if given the chance to direct a DC movie.

Refn made the comments while promoting his new film, Her Private Hell, which premiered out of competition at the festival. The Neon Demon director’s interest in the character stems from aesthetic fascination rather than franchise ambition.

Refn ruled out Wonder Woman as a potential project because “Wonder Woman is done, that one I thought was super heavy.” He gravitated toward Batgirl instead, citing his passion for comic book visual culture. However, Refn appeared largely unaware of the character’s troubled cinematic history at Warner Bros.

The studio shelved a near-complete Batgirl film in August 2022 from directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Warner Bros. Discovery took a tax writedown on the $70M-plus production under CEO David Zaslav’s leadership. The film had originally been destined for the HBO Max streaming service.

When informed about the shelved production, Refn appeared mostly unmoved by the details. His interest in the character remains rooted in its visual possibilities. “The costumes, I love the aesthetics,” Refn explained to Deadline. He connected Batgirl to his broader creative obsessions as a filmmaker.

“A lot of Her Private Hell is my obsession with dolls, objects and how to move people around in space and time,” Refn said. “I loved the objectification of objects, and superheroes and comic-books and that whole sub-culture. It’s where I come from. I collect Japanese toys, I play with Legos.”

Despite his enthusiasm, Refn tempered expectations by acknowledging his preference for original work. “I don’t know if I’ll make an actual IP,” he admitted, comparing himself to director Elia Kazan. Her Private Hell star Rose Havana Liu joked that a Refn Spider-Man film would feature “the slowest swing.”

Neon will release Her Private Hell theatrically on July 24.

Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on SuperHeroHype.com.