After recently testing Leslie Grace (In the Heights) and Haley Lu Richardson (Five Feet Apart) it looks like DC has found their Batgirl. Sources tell Deadline Leslie Grace has been chosen to play the titular character in the studios’ Batgirl.
It was reported that Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Dora and the Lost City of Gold) and Zoey Deutch, (Zombieland: Double Tap and Why Him?) were also possible options for the role.
Batgirl will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directing pair behind Bad Boys for Life. Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, Birds of Prey, and 2022’s The Flash) wrote the screenplay and Kristin Burr (Cruella) is producing.
Deadline broke the news that testing for the lead role was taking place and named top contenders for the role, while TheWrap reported Grace and Richardson’s emergence as frontrunners. Batgirl will center on Barbara Gordon, the crime-fighting offspring of Commissioner James Gordon.
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While little is known about the intended plotline, we are all already aware that Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, a prolific Batman character that has been played by the likes of Gary Oldman, J.K. Simmons, and Jeffrey Wright in 2022’s The Batman, will be the character behind the cape in this version.
Gordon is the most established version of the Batgirl character and was first introduced in 1961 as Betty Kane. The character was revamped in 1967 when television executives wanted to attract a female audience to the Batman TV series. Yvonne Craig played the character in 26 episodes from 1967-1968. Alicia Silverstone was cast as Batgirl in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 movie Batman & Robin.
This marks the third Latina actress Warner Bros. has cast in their major DC films, the others being Sasha Calle in The Flash movie and Rachel Zegler in Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Grace is of Dominican descent.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Batgirl will head straight to HBO Max, the first major DC film to do so amidst a larger effort for the DCEU to expand into original streaming series and films.
Joia DaVida reports on the entertainment industry in both Chicago and Los Angeles.
