Hot on the heels of the first on-set footage of Brendan Fraser’s Batgirl character Firefly in action, videos have surfaced online showing Leslie Grace’s titular superhero in the thick of the action as filming continues in the UK on the upcoming HBO Max movie. The new footage includes clips of Grace’s Batgirl dangling a criminal out of a window, and escaping from a burning building that has been torched by Fraser’s villain. The Batgirl movie will be the first live-action feature to center on the character, who has previously appeared several times in TV shows and was portrayed by Alicia Silverstone in Batman & Robin.
While Batgirl will not get a cinematic screening, with Warner Bros. choosing to make it HBO Max exclusive content instead, that doesn’t mean any of the big screen values are being lost, as can be seen in the video footage, and is further backed up by the star power driving the movie. As well as Grace and Fraser, Batgirl will also give Michael Keaton another appearance as Batman, who is thought to mentor Barbara Gordon in her Batgirl role before turning over the role of Gotham’s protector to her. J.K. Simmons will also be returning to the DCEU as Commissioner Gordon, a part he last played in Justice League.
While Warner Bros. DCEU has been a notably fractured affair so far, with many movies arriving with different tones, different objectives and different visions for what the DCEU should be, the upcoming Batgirl movie seems to be tying up with events from The Flash, which will also feature Keaton as Batman, along with Ben Affleck in his Dark Knight role. There have been some rumors that The Flash will effectively see a reset done on all that has gone before, and as the film is set to be the end of Affleck’s run as Batman, that could well prove to be true, in part at least.
Batgirl Will Replace Batman In The Future Of The DCEU
Leslie Grace’s Batgirl appearance will be only the second female-led DCEU movie after Wonder Woman – as Margot Robbie’s turn as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey seems to sit outside the universe even if the character has appeared in the DCEU thanks to her Suicide Squad roles – but if the rumors are to be believed, she will be taking a more central role in the franchise’s future. With Affleck hanging up his cape, and Keaton’s run only said to be limited in the grander scheme of things, it is thought that Barbara Gordon will be called upon to fill a bat-shaped hole in the Justice League the next time the superhero group get together.
This could make sense for a number of reasons, many of which rest on the other Gotham-based universe being created with Matt Reeves’ The Batman. If current plans remain unchanged, there is a schedule in place for two spin-off series’ and potentially two sequel movies around the world of Robert Pattinson’s Batman, and if that universe is sustaining the interest in the Bat, then his presence in a Justice League sequel and the DCEU in general may not be required for some time to come. How Warner Bros. will play all of this remains to be seen, but for now, we can rest in the knowledge that it looks like DC is finally getting it together and giving the DCEU a new lease of life.