Actor Leslie Grace’s first look in costume for the upcoming DC movie Batgirl is here. The picture was shared by the actor on her social media accounts. The costume is not perfect and seamless, and is kind of creased and wrinkled, indicating that this is a rookie superhero. “I use their expectations against them. That will be their weakness. Not mine. Let them all underestimate me… And when their guard is down, and their pride is rising, let me kick their butts. – Batgirl, Year One,” Leslie captioned the photo.
The overall design appears to be inspired by the comic storyline Batgirl of Burnside, in which the superhero moved to the Burnside, a more modern neighbourhood in Gotham City.
There have been many Batgirls, but the most famous is Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon. JK Simmons will reprise the role of James Gordon in the film, after playing him in 2017’s Justice League.
Leslie recently found fame and acclaim thanks to her performance in her debut film In the Heights, the Jon M. Chu-directed adaptation of eponymous stage musical. She had beaten Isabella Merced, Zoey Deutch and Haley Lu Richardson for Batgirl’s role.
Batgirl is being directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, known for 2020’s Bad Boys for Life, and has had a difficult road to production. At one point Joss Whedon, who finished 2017’s DC team-up Justice League after original director Zack Snyder left due to family tragedy, was attached to direct. But he stepped down due to reasons not made public.
The script is penned by Christina Hodson, who is known for writing 2016 psychological thriller Shut In and also the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee.
It has been confirmed that Michael Keaton will don the cape and cowl for the movie. Fans expect he will play the role of a mentor to Barbara. Keaton is also set to play the role in The Flash, which comes out in November this year. Hodson is also the screenwriter on The Flash.
Keaton, who played the role of iconic DC superhero in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), recently explained why he came back in the role of Caped Crusader. While speaking on The Jess Cagle Podcast With Julia Cunningham, he said, “I thought, ‘Boy, what would that be like?’ And then, coincidentally, there were murmurs, and I got a call from Warner Bros. They wanted to talk to me about something and there were hints of Batman.”
He said that it was the script that convinced him. “It has to be good. There’s no reason to do it if it’s not good. It’s not gonna really change anything. And I just jumped in and had fun. And why would you not? You know, I mean, director Andy Muschietti is fantastic, and it’s really creative. I don’t know. It’s fun.”