Whedon working out deal for Batgirl film
LOS ANGELES — Joss Whedon is closing in on a deal to write, direct and produce an untitled standalone Batgirl film for Warner Bros. as part of its DC Extended Universe.
According to Variety, it would be Batgirl’s first solo movie, as well as the DCEU’s second film starring a female lead after Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman (which comes out in June).
The most well-known incarnation of Batgirl made her comic book debut in 1967 in The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl! (Detective Comics No. 359) by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino. The story introduced Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham Police Commissioner James Gordon, who moonlights as the masked crime fighter Batgirl.
Batgirl’s comic book debut coincided with her introduction to the 1960s Batman TV series, in which she was played by Yvonne Craig, ka-powing alongside Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward).
While various interpretations (and incarnations) of Batgirl have made their marks over the years, the character’s recent resurgence in popularity is linked to the Batgirl of Burnside comics reboot by Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr in 2014.
Fletcher, Stewart and Tarr’s run of Batgirl saw Barbara Gordon juggling life as a Ph.D. student with crimefighting. The series was praised for its fun, younger and brighter energy, as well as the character’s new stylish yet functional look. If this is the version of the character that Whedon turns to, the movie could inject some much-needed light into the dark and gritty DCEU.
Fan favourite Whedon is known for creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse. A new Batgirl movie would mark Whedon jumping from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the DCEU. Whedon directed 2012’s The Avengers and 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as helped create the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series.
No other producers are currently attached to the Batgirl project, which originated in the past month. Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s chief content officer, Toby Emmerich, is overseeing with Jon Berg and Geoff Johns.