When any film, specifically a new superhero one, is coming soon, people have one looming question on their minds. Who will play the leading role? Will it be a relative unknown or perhaps a familiar face as the protagonist? Will they look like their comic counterpart (if that exists) or perhaps go in a different direction for a specific reason. Well, those of us who are ready for DC Comics’ Batgirl film no longer have to wonder. According to Deadline, Leslie Grace will play Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl in the upcoming film, set to release on HBO Max sometime in the future. (Nerdist reached out to Warner Bros. for further comment but have not heard anything at time of publishing.)
Musical fans will recognize Leslie Grace from her role as Nina Rosario in Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights film. It’s a very big deal for Grace considering she only has this one film under her belt so far. But others may know her from her music career, including a self-titled album from 2013. Grace is of Dominican descent, so this is an awesome chance to see Barbara Gordon through a diverse lens.
Right now, no one knows what the Batgirl film will be about, even though there is already a script in place. As always, there’s a trove of comic material to pull from or, as creatives like to do, they can also pretty much make up what they want. We do know is that Barbara, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, is the one donning the cape as opposed to other iterations of Batgirl.
So it only makes sense that J.K. Simmons is reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming film. We first heard the news at The Hollywood Reporter. Simmons previously played the character in the 2017 DCEU film Justice League.
Warner Bros.
We also know that Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are taking the reins with this film. Now that Grace is onboard, hopefully other casting announcements will come soon. And we will be waiting patiently for a trailer.
Originally published on July 21, 2021.
