Leslie Grace Cast as Batgirl in HBO Max Movie

Earlier this week, The Wrap reported that Leslie Grace has officially been cast as Barbara Gordon in the DC Universe. Grace’s breakout role was in In the Heights and now we can expect to see her suit up as Batgirl in her own solo movie.

The actress herself confirmed the casting on Twitter yesterday.

I am BEYOND EXCITED to embody Barbara Gordon, your #Batgirl ! I cannot believeeee what I’m writing rn… THANK YOU DC for welcoming to the family! I’m ready to give her all I’ve got! 🦇💜✨ https://t.co/muq9GuVVk6
— Leslie Grace (@lesliegrace) July 21, 2021

Batgirl is slated for release exclusively on HBO Max. Little is known about the project yet, but it will be helmed by directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The pair have recently worked on Ms Marvel, an MCU series that will launch on Disney+ in late 2021. The script is to be written by Christina Hodson, who previously worked on the DCEU’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

Character Background

Barbara Gordon has a rich comic book history. She’s most known for being the daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon, one of Batman’s closest allies, and for taking up the mantle of Batgirl. When she’s tragically shot and paralyzed by the Joker in The Killing Joke, Barbara becomes Oracle, the hacker and computer expert. Barbara eventually recovers from her paralysis due to surgery and operates both as Batgirl and Oracle depending on the situation.

In live-action, we’ve seen Batgirl appear in the 1960s Batman TV series, the short-lived Birds of Prey series, the controversial Batman & Robin film, and the Gotham TV series. The character is also set to make an appearance in season three of Titans, being portrayed by Savannah Welch. The series will debut in August.

*Barbara Gordon as Batgirl (source: DC Comics)*

In the DCEU

There’s been much speculation about Batgirl entering the DCEU ever since the release of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) in 2020. Despite being a founding member of that group, she was left out of the movie. But, there’s a possibility that we could see an appearance from Black Canary or Huntress in this project.

The way in which the movie ended suggested that The Birds of Prey were forming. Therefore, there could be room for Batgirl to take her rightful place on the team. Especially since Birds of Prey writer Christina Hudson is at the helm of the Batgirl project.

*Black Canary, Renee Montoya and Huntress (source: Warner Bros)*

When might we know more?

Information is in short supply with this movie. But, now that the titular role has been cast and there’s a writing/directing team on board, we can hopefully expect to see more regular updates. The Batgirl project has been talked about and in the works since 2017.

At one point it was set to be helmed by director Joss Whedon. He received backlash online about a controversial draft of a Wonder Woman script and then released the disappointing Justice League movie. Although it’s not confirmed why he left the Batgirl project, we can assume that his relationship with DC/Warner Bros was on the rocks. Especially now with the various controversies surrounding him regarding his behaviour on-set.