Here's What Drew Joss Whedon To Direct Batgirl

04/20/2017 04:34 pm EDT

At the end of March, it was revealed that Joss Whedon, the director behind The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, is writing, directing, and producing a live-action Batgirl feature film for Warner Bros. It will reportedly focus on the New 52 version of Barbara Gordon (written by Gail Simone), who returned under the cape and cowl after a brutal assault from the Joker in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke.

Since then, Whedon has been quiet about the project, but because he is a friend of director James Gunn and played a key role in shaping the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Whedon attended Wednesday's premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. There, reporters got their first crack at asking him about Batgirl.

So, what is it about Batgirl that drew his interest? "I started getting obsessed with how a young woman could get hardcore enough to need to put on the cowl. Like, what's her damage?" he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Who is this person, who decides — rather than being forced to by their childhood trauma — decides to pick up this life? How intense and driven that person is ... I just couldn't stop thinking about it."

Any chance Whedon's Batgirl will be rocking her stylish yellow Doc Martens? "I don't know," Whedon said with a laugh. "I have a lot of voices in my head."

As for who will play Batgirl, don't expect Whedon to go pursuing A-list actresses. "I doubt it'll be a name, I think this is somewhere where you go and find Batgirl and then you cast her […]," he told Variety. "I mean, I'm not against movie stars, they're great, but you need somebody who is just right. and a situation with this, the name carries a lot of weight so it's not as critical."

MORE: Joss Whedon Speaks Out About Batgirl's Casting / Joss Whedon Called Marvel's Kevin Feige About Batgirl / Wonder Woman Director Comments On Whedon's Batgirl / Whedon's Batgirl Reportedly Based On New 52 Version

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