Following on from our report on the new Joss Whedon Batgirl movie from March 30th, and our views on casting the Dominoed Daredoll, Entertainment Weekly has breaking news.
It comes as no surprise, and possibly huge relief, that the Batgirl movie will focus on the Barbara Gordon version of the character. Rather than going back to her 1960s origins, the movie looks set to focus on Babs’ return to crimefighting, after the events of The Killing Joke. The version that has been portrayed in the comics from 2011, through to the current DC Rebirth relaunch.
This makes sense in a lot of ways. In Batman v Superman, we saw Jason Todd’s Robin uniform in the Batcave. Jason’s death happened around the same time as the Joker’s attack on Barbara Gordon. This will also help strengthen the ties with Ben Affleck’s Batman and J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl’s father.
Having the new film focus on a healthy Batgirl, rather than the Oracle, will be a popular choice. This is the Batgirl freshest in the public eye and the one non-comics readers can most relate to. This is due to her longevity and appearances in mainstream media.
With Joss Whedon writing, producing and directing, Batgirl’s fate should be better than in her last silver screen appearance. Although Alicia Silverstone played a competent Batgirl in 1997’s Batman & Robin, making her Alfred’s niece and not Jim Gordon’s daughter was a misstep many fans could not accept. Strong female characters are a Whedon trademark, so hopefully, the new Batgirl will be three dimensional and well grounded.
This news is welcome indeed. With Batgirl now added to the growing list of DCEU movies in development, the future seems bright. Batman fans in particular have a great deal to look forward to.
