Brendan Fraser was set to star in the since-canceled Batgirl film in which he played the villain, Firefly. In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Fraser lamented the film’s cancellation and detailed what his villain would have been like.
Sitting down with Stern, Fraser called the film “great,” and praised directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah for what they tried to bring to the film, specifically when it came to turning Glasgow, Scotland into Gotham City.
“Yeah, it was great,” Fraser said. “Adil [El Arbi] and Bilall [Fallah], who did the Bad Boys movie, are really good at blowing shit up and they love doing it. You know, like practical fire effects making stuff go bang, they’re all over it, and so Firefly is right in their wheelhouse. Gotham never looked better cast as Glasgow, Scotland. You know it’s decaying and just gorgeous. It looks like it’s Gotham City. It’s perfectly cast. You believe it no matter where you look at the town, if you light it the right way.”
When it came to Firefly, Fraser detailed what his character would have been like. According to the actor, Firefly’s story would have focused on a veteran that lost his benefits and became angry with the system. Fraser said he also “relished” the role, and really wanted it.
“It was a story about a guy who had been in the service and his benefits were cut and he was very angry with the system and what else is he gonna do but burn it to the ground,” said Fraser. “That’s all you need to know. That’s a supervillain right there. You’ve got some sympathy for him. You’ve also got some humanity to him and on top of that a screw loose cause you know he’s the bad guy, but is he really like all the best bad guys, you kinda like them a little bit. That was this role. On paper very very good. I relished this part.”
Finally, Fraser also touched on the film’s cancellation, with the actor saying that he hasn’t seen it and doesn’t know if anyone ever will. However, the actor did buck back against rumors that the film tested poorly, chalking that up to the film’s unfinished nature playing a large role.
“I have not,” Fraser said when asked if he’d seen the film. “I have friends and co-workers and associates who’ve seen it. They all say really good things about it. But the thing about it was it was screened in a garden variety test screening. It was a director’s cut, first cut. It wasn’t finished. I don’t know about you, but I don’t eat half-baked cake. I don’t want to see something that’s not ready yet. The sad thing is that I don’t know if it was judged on merit. It wasn’t shown in the best light that it could have been.”
