In The Heights star, Leslie Grace, has been cast as Barbara Gordon in Batgirl.
Warner Bros. and DC Films have spent some time testing actresses for the role of Batgirl in the DCEU. According to Deadline, the studio already had Grace as a favorite for the role. Due to her breakout performance in In The Heights, her audition was the icing on the cake, and sealed the deal.
Batgirl is set to debut on HBO Max, making it one of the first big DC characters to have a film get it’s premiere exclusively on the streaming service. Once upon a time, disgraced director Joss Whedon was set to bring the character to life, but he was unable to break a story for the character and bowed out, which then put the film in a bit of limbo. Bad Boys for Life directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, were brought on to direct based on a script from Birds of Prey Christina Hodson.
Plot details are under wraps, but there are plenty of directions that Batgirl could take. The film could be set in the “current” DCEU, where Ben Affleck is Batman, in what could be a post Flashpoint DCEU with Michael Keaton back as Batman, in Matt Reeve’s The Batman universe, or a whole new continuity not yet established.
Whatever direction the studio and filmmakers decide to go, I do hope inspiration is pulled from Hope Larson’s tenure on Batgirl, as it remains one of my favorite runs on any comic.
Grace was among a final group of actresses being tested for the role that included Isabela Merced, Zoey Deutch, and Haley Lu Richardson.
Source: Deadline
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