Among the many DC projects to have fallen by the wayside recently, one that is still on course is Batgirl. The movie heads to HBO Max sometime later this year by all accounts, and is going to see the return of Michael Keaton as Batman and J.K. Simmons in his Justice League role of Commissioner Gordon, as well as introducing Leslie Grace as the latest iteration of Batgirl. While there is little known about how Keaton’s Batman will end up connecting with the DCEU characters, J.K. Simmons has been explaining how fans are going to see a different side to Gordon in the movie.

Batgirl is now one of the only DC movies not getting a theatrical release, with Blue Beetle recently being granted a release in cinemas in 2023. Although there seems to be connections to The Flash movie in Batgirl, it is not yet known whether the delay in the release of Ezra Miller’s first and potentially last solo outing as the scarlet speedster will cause Batgirl to also be delayed. At the moment, the film is still expected to hit HBO Max sometime later this year.

J.K. Simmons has had quite a run in the world of comic book movies, and having returned to the role of J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: No Way Home over at Marvel Studios, his legions of fans are now eagerly awaiting his return to the role of Gordon, after his Justice League appearances were more of a cameo role than something meaningful in the DCEU. Speaking to Collider, Simmons explained how this time around is different. He said:

“Batgirl was a treat, for a number of reasons. My little bit in Justice League was, at the time, meant to be, ‘Look, we’re gonna introduce this guy and we’re gonna see more of him in the future.’ I didn’t have a whole lot to do. In Batgirl, because of the relationship between Commissioner Gordon and his daughter, it’s much more of a domestic aspect of Jim Gordon. We do get to see some fun, out in the street...Well, I’m gonna stop now because I really don’t wanna do any spoilers. But it was fun to do the stuff with Leslie Grace, who plays Batgirl, and get to portray a different aspect of Jim Gordon, other than as Commissioner Gordon.”

Related: Leslie Grace Teases an 'Insane' Batgirl Movie, Says Sequel Talks Have Started

Batgirl Could Still Get A Theatrical Release

batgirl
Warner Bros.

At the time of writing, Batgirl is still slated to be an HBO Max premiere, but as the Warner Bros. merger with Discovery sees a number of strategic changes taking place within the company, that is something that could still change. While Blue Beetle has already been given a theatrical release in August 2023, there has been no confirmation of Batgirl’s release one way or the other.

While the new strategy for all DC movies seems to be on cinematic releases and not straight-to-streaming, it seems strange that Batgirl, which has been described as an “insane entry into the DCEU”, remains HBO Max bound considering the draw the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman could have on cinema audiences. It is still not known whether Keaton’s appearances in Batgirl and The Flash are explicitly connected or not, or which should come first in the timeline of the DCEU, but with many schedule changes and cancelations already being announced, the real question is whether Batgirl’s current release plan is going to hold?