Leslie Grace will be the next Batgirl, appearing in her own film on HBO Max in the coming months. In the film, she will share the screen with Commissioner Jim Gordon (J.K. Simmons), Batman (Michael Keaton), and square off against Firefly (Brendan Fraser)…but the DC Universe is a big place, and anybody who gets to suit up in that world, is going to have to think about what other heroes and villains they might like to bounce off of. During a conversation with ComicBook’s sister site PopCulture.com, Grace confessed that she would love to get some screen time with some of the other young heroes of DC’s film universe.
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Grace is the first person of color to play the role of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, and that is not a distinction that’s lost on her. During the interview, she talked about the importance of representation to young people of color, who have historically not had a chance to see themselves in superhero narratives.
“Speaking of representation, we’ve got our first origin story for a Latino superhero, Blue Beetle, and I would absolutely love to meet up,” Grace said. “I don’t know how that will work, because, you know, Batgirl in Gotham, she doesn’t leave. But I would love, at some point, to cross paths with Blue Beetle, who’s literally changing the game. And I would love to meet up with Sasha, with our Supergirl, our new Supergirl. In the comics, Batgirl and Supergirl actually become really good friends. “
While there has not been a Batgirl in the Arrowverse, the friendship between Ruby Rose’s Batwoman and Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl was a key aspect of the “Elseworlds” and “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover events on TV. Unfortunately, Javicia Leslie’s Batwoman never got a chance to follow up on that, as Supergirl ended before Covid-19 protocols were loosened enough to do a crossover.
“There are some villains I would like to meet too, like Poison Ivy,” Grace added. “I just remember growing up and watching the old Batman movies and I’m just like, ‘Wow. Some of these villains are super iconic too.’ So Catwoman…there are so many characters I would love to meet.”
Batgirl is directed by Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi, with a script written by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey, The Flash). The film co-stars J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon; Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman; Brendan Fraser as Firefly; Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh; and Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai cast in unknown roles. Batgirl was slated to be on sometime in 2022. However, with The Flash now delayed to the summer of 2023, it will remain to be seen if it impacts Batgirl‘s release date.
