After several years of rumours about a potential film project, once linked to a Joss Whedon-penned script he would also direct, it has been confirmed that Batgirl is set for her own solo movie. This time Bad Boys for Life duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah will share directing duties and with the screenplay coming from Christina Hodson. The current plan is to release it as part of HBO Max.
Most people know Batgirl as the costumed identity of Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon (though others have assumed the masked vigilante role over the years in the comics, including Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown). The character has been portrayed as goofy, silly, tragic and dark, depending on the creative teams involved. Gordon herself assumed the identity of Oracle when she was shot and violated by the Joker (in the classic 1998 Killing Joke graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland) and for over a decade of shifting storylines she was confined to a wheelchair but helped other heroes through her computer skills. With major retroactive changes to DC Comics continuity, Gordon would undergo surgery to return her full mobility and reassume the Batgirl role.
On screen, the portrayals of Barbara/Batgirl have usually been less controversial and played with a lighter touch. Yvonne Craig essayed the character for the iconic Adam West/Burt Ward Batman series in the 1960s. In the much-derided 1997 film Batman & Robin, Alicia Silverstone played the character. Almost all the discussed versions of a potential film have placed Gordon as the main role.
