Between The Batman, The Flash, and the Aquaman sequel, Warner Bros. has been a little coyer about its Batgirl movie, which makes sense as it’s not due until late 2022. But thanks to the DC Fandome event, WB gave us a tiny, tiny glimpse of Barbara’s new movie, and we’re absolutely down to see this Batgirl kick supervillain arse, even if it’s on the small screen.
Since the movie hasn’t started production yes, all we got were talking heads of star Leslie Grace, writer Christina Hodson — who also wrote The Flash and Birds of Prey films — and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah talking the film up. It was mostly general excitement, but Hodson teased that this Batgirl won’t be quite as “law-abiding” as her incarnations, while the directors promised Batgirl would be wearing a cowl, as if that was somehow up for debate. Then Leslie confirmed her Barbara Gordon will also have red hair.
However, from previous interviews, we know the movie is said to be inspired by the wonderful “Batgirl of Burnside” story arc, co-written by Brendon Fletcher and Cameron Stewart, with fabulous art by Babs Tarr. It’s unclear what other inspirations the movie might take from those issues, but we say the more the merrier. Check out a piece of concept art from the film revealed during the event above.
Batgirl seems like it’s going to take place in the DC Extended Universe formerly headed up by Zack Snyder, given that J.K. Simmons will be playing Barbara’s father Commissioner Jim Gordon, as he did in Justice League and Batman v Superman. Westworld and What If actor Jeffrey Wright plays Gordon in Matt Reeves’ The Batman — and is on his way to his own Gotham TV series — but as far as we know, that film doesn’t connect to the larger film universe. Unless The Flash’s multiverse storyline decides to connect them. Speaking of which, in a recent interview, the two directors confirmed that Batman will be making an appearance in Batgirl and that it would really be him…which version is the question. It could mean Ben Affleck, who’s already reprising the role in the upcoming Flash movie, but seems to have less than no interest in the Dark Knight beyond that. It could be The Batman’s Robert Pattinson if Warner Bros. considers him the new “official” Batman. But given that the Flash movie is clearly going to be messing with timelines, hell, it could even be Michael Keaton if the directors mean “real” in the sense of “personal favourite.” George Clooney, however, certainly wasn’t asked back.
Batgirl is currently set to premiere on HBO Max sometime next year. Hopefully, we’ll be getting even more information soon.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.