After Warner Bros. was rumoured to have made Batgirl less of a priority after Joss Whedon stepped down as the writer and director when he realized he “didn’t really have a story”, it seemed it might be a while before we heard any movement, if any, on the purported project. Though its been a couple months, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the surprising news that Batgirl is back in development with Christina Hodson writing the script.
Hodson’s writing credits include the Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl thriller Unforgettable, but her most recent work is the upcoming Transformers spin-off, Bumblebee, focusing on the well-known Autobot scout. Hodson isn’t a stranger to Batgirl, however, as WB had also hired her to write a script for Birds of Prey featuring Harley Quinn alongside other female heroes and villains.
The film will reportedly feature the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl, arguably the most well known Batman of the comics. The daughter of Gotham City’s police commissioner James Gordon, Barbara was first introduced in the Batman comics in 1967 where she became the new Batgirl and joined Batman and Robin in their crusade to fight crime in Gotham. Known for her intelligence and computer skills, Batgirl is an incredible asset to Batman and his team.
In a story in the late-80s, Barbara was shot and crippled by The Joker, forcing her to retire Batgirl and spend her life in a wheelchair. This didn’t stop her from being a hero, however, as she created the identity of Oracle, a master hacker who was a vital part of both Batman’s team and the Justice League. She even started her own team called the Birds of Prey alongside Black Canary and Huntress. After DC rebooted the comics with The New 52 in 2011, Barbara became Batgirl once again and has been ever since.
Batgirl has been previously played by Yvonne Craig in the third season of the 60s Batman series, Alicia Silverstone in Batman and Robin, Dina Meyer in the short-lived Birds of Prey TV series and voiced by Rosario Dawson in The LEGO Batman Movie. She also had a very quick cameo in Ready Player One in her Batman: Arkham Knight guise, in which she was voiced by Twilight‘s Ashley Greene.
