Fans of DC Comics will be taking two trips to Gotham City this year, as Warner Bros launches bold reboot The Batman and follows it up with the first ever live-action Batgirl movie.
In The Heights breakout star Leslie Grace will portray vigilante Barbara Gordon, a legendary character from the comic books who has never gotten her due in various earlier screen adaptations.
However, that looks set to change now, as the studio has assembled a strong creative team including Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson as well as Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
The film will be set in the mainline DCEU continuity – as opposed to the separate universe inhabited by Robert Pattinson’s Batman – which has allowed for JK Simmons to reprise his Justice League role of Commissioner Gordon.
Meanwhile, Michael Keaton will portray Bruce Wayne aka Batman, in a role that will reportedly be set up by his upcoming appearance in Ezra Miller’s long-awaited The Flash solo movie.
Read on for all your essential information on DC’s Batgirl.
Batgirl release date rumours
There’s no specific release date for Batgirl just yet, but Warner Bros has said that it intends to launch the film sometime in 2022, but surprisingly it may not see a cinema release.
Instead, the film will land exclusively on HBO Max in the United States, although it’s unclear where it will turn up in countries where the service is not available (such as the UK).
We’ll keep you posted on the film’s release strategy as more details come in.
Batgirl officially started filming in late November 2021, with principal photography still ongoing in mid-January, taking place primarily in Glasgow, Scotland.
Batgirl cast confirmed
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Leslie Grace will lead the cast of DC’s Batgirl movie, after the singer-turned-actor recently made a big impression on critics with her performance in Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In The Heights.
She was one of four actors said to be in contention for the role last summer, beating out competition from Isabela Merced (Sweet Girl), Zoey Deutch (The Politician) and Haley Lu Richardson (Five Feet Apart).
JK Simmons (Spider-Man: No Way Home) will star as her father, Commissioner James Gordon, who is a close ally of Batman, but does not wish for his daughter to get involved in the dangerous hobby of vigilantism.
Michael Keaton will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne aka Batman, which he originated in Tim Burton’s 1989 film and has recently returned to as DC toys with its own multiverse stories.
Brendan Fraser has been cast as the chief antagonist in the film, taking on the role of unhinged pyromaniac Firefly, which is entirely unrelated to his other DC role of Robotman on Doom Patrol.
In January 2022, it was announced that The Thick Of It‘s Rebecca Front would be joining the cast of Batgirl in an undisclosed role, alongside Corey Johnson (The Mauritanian) and Emmerdale alum Ethan Kai.
Meanwhile, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are reuniting with one of their Bad Boys For Life stars Jacob Scipio, whose role is also being kept under wraps for now.
Batgirl plot theories
Little is known about the plot of Batgirl, but it seems the story will focus on Barbara Gordon beginning her career as a costumed crime-fighter and facing off against menacing comic book villain, Firefly.
The film is set in the mainline DC Extended Universe continuity, which also includes the likes of Aquaman, Wonder Woman and The Flash, but is completely separate to Robert Pattinson’s gritty The Batman reboot.
Batgirl trailer
There’s no footage available from Batgirl just yet. As of January 2022, filming is still ongoing for the Batgirl movie, so we wouldn’t expect to see a teaser for some time. Stay tuned!
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