Batgirl Movie Will Be Badass With Lots Of Fights, Says Star
Batgirl star, Leslie Grace, hints that the film will have a lot of action. The In The Heights star signed on for the role of Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl in July 2021, beating out Isabella Merced (Dora the Explorer), Haley Lu Richardson (Five Feet Apart), and Zoey Deutch (Zombieland: Double Tap). The film is currently planned for a 2022 release date on HBO Max.
Batgirl has been in development at Warner Bros. since 2017 when it was originally announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film, however, the director stepped away from the project in February the following year after the disappointment of Justice League and later revealed behind-the-scenes issues with the creator. Christina Hodson was hired to write Batgirl after impressing the studio with her script for Birds of Prey. In 2021, it was announced that Bad Boys for Life directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, had signed on for the project.
In an interview with Variety, Grace spoke about the amount of action Batgirl will have. She let fans know that her Batgirl will have something to prove and will be hands-on in her fight. Grace did not confirm or share any plot details on the film, including who she would be fighting. Read what Grace said below:
“But I will tell you this, Batgirl is a badass. She’s definitely going to be fighting lots of people. She’ll be very hands-on. She’s got a lot to prove.”
Given Arbi and Fallah's history with action on both Bad Boys for Life as well as working on the upcoming Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel, the plenty of action does not seem shocking, but it does give an indication of the direction the film will go. The indication that Barbara will be fighting lots of people could indicate she is taking on plenty of smaller criminals or fighting the henchman of another villain. While there is no confirmed villain for the film, rumors have circulated that the script includes the Batman villain, Firefly.
The added bit about Batgirl having a lot to prove raises some interesting points about the film. Ben Affleck is currently set to reprise his role as the DCEU Batman in The Flash, which is also written by Batgirl scribe, Cristina Hodson. Yet, it appears that will be Affleck's final time as the caped crusader, so the DCEU might be without a Batman to protect its Gotham City. If so, this puts Barbara in a position to have to prove herself as Gotham City defender. Grace had already confirmed that Batman will not appear in Batgirl. This would actually be similar to the plot line in the animated series, Harley Quinn, which saw Barbara take on the Batgirl mantle when Batman was nowhere to be found. Batgirl is positioning itself as an interesting piece in the larger DCEU narrative.
Source: Variety