Joss Whedon’s Batgirl Reportedly Based On New 52 Version

Warners Bros. and DC generated a ton of buzz yesterday when people learned Joss Whedon was near finalizing a deal to write, direct, and produce a Batgirl movie.

The creative coup would bring the Buffy creator to DC for his first film after a failed attempt at Wonder Woman years ago. Patty Jenkins is on the precipice of bringing the Amazon’s first big screen adventure into theaters, and Whedon has since helmed two wildly successful Avengers films for Marvel.

Though DC now seems committed to expanding their superhero universe to encompass the wider Bat Family of characters, some fans have wondered which version of the character would be featured in Whedon’s movie.

It will reportedly focus on Barbara Gordon—the New 52 version (written by Gail Simone), who returned under the cape and cowl after a brutal assault from the Joker featured in the pages of the Killing Joke comic by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland.

UP NEXT: Dreamcasting The 5 Top Choices To Play Batgirl

The continuity tweak in the wake of the New 52 initiative eliminated Barbara’s time as Oracle, at the computer-savvy support role who helped many of the Bat-Family characters behind the scenes, and instead revealed that Batgirl healed after the Joker’s attack.

This is in line with a lot of what the DC Films have already established in terms of Batman’s history in the world as well as the Joker’s alluded war with the Caped Crusader.

In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Bruce Wayne briefly examines a Robin memorial on display in the Batcave, defaced by the Joker, hinting at the character’s tragic demise at the hands of Clown Prince of Crime. This references the infamous 1988 storyline A Death In The Family in which fans could call a hotline to decide whether Jason Todd lived or died after a crowbar beating and explosion rocked the character.

The fans were pretty brutal.

How much of Batgirl’s character history gets adopted into the cinematic world remains to be seen, but there are many directions Whedon could take in his new film. Barbara has been portrayed as an optimist rising above tragic circumstances in the New 52, an aspect that was more prominent when the Batgirl of Burnside run began with Babs Tarr, Brenden Fletcher, and Cameron Stewart’s time on the title.

Maybe there will be more hints in Justice League when it comes out, aside from the line from J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon—Barbara’s father—when he says to Batman “It’s nice to see you playing well with others again.”

Justice League is out November 17.

MORE: Rumor: The 100’s Lindsey Morgan Could Be Playing Batgirl / Ranking The Batgirl Costumes

In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck (Batman), Henry Cavill (Superman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Ezra Miller (The Flash), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ray Fisher (Cyborg), Ciarán Hinds (Steppenwolf), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Jeremy Irons (Alfred Pennyworth), J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon), Amber Heard (Mera), Kiersey Clemons (Iris West) and Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor).

[h/t] Entertainment Weekly