When Barbara Gordon launched her career as Batgirl, she was simply going to a Halloween costume party dressed in an outfit inspired by Gotham City’s defender, Batman. It wasn’t her fault that she ran afoul of the machinations of the colorful supervillain, Killer Moth! Yet she rose to the occasion and defeated the rogue with her whits and natural prowess.
Now, a fledgling actor has landed the role of the “dominoed daredoll” on screens. The new Batgirl is Leslie Grace, an established Latina pop star, who impressed audiences with her turn as Nina Rosario in the Warner Bros. movie In the Heights, based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway show. She may be best remembered for her song and dance number along the walls of buildings with Corey Hawkins.
DC’s cinematic universe is… not as well thought out as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the established DCEU, J.K. Simmons plays Commissioner James Gordon. Simmons is Caucasian. In the continuity of Matt Reeves’ upcoming… I dunno, are we calling it a reboot?… Anyway, in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Commissioner Gordon will be played by African American actor, Jeffrey Wright.
Grace is Latina. Is she the adopted daughter of one of them? Is she biracial? Does she exist in her own continuity where Gordon is Hispanic?
It does appear that THISÂ Batgirl is the Barbara Gordon version, so… we have to wait and see how this plays out.
There have been other Batgirls in the comics, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. Cassandra is Asian American but may have already been embodied by Ella Jay Basco in Birds of Prey (and the Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
This film will be released on HBO Max, not in theaters. Once again, it isn’t clear whether this is part of the established DCEU or if this is connected to Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
Leslie Grace appears to have landed this role over Zoey Deutch, Isabela Merced, and Haley Lu Richardson.
Are you a fan of Batgirl? What do you expect to see in a movie?
