Brendan Fraser has revealed some intriguing details for his villain Firefly in Batgirl. In 1961, DC introduced Barbara Gordon as a new incarnation of Batgirl, who is the daughter of Gotham City Police Department Commissioner Jim Gordon. The superheroine protege and partner of Batman proved quite popular with fans, leading her to appear in a number of live-action projects. Some of the most memorable portrayals of Batgirl are from Alicia Silverstone and Yvonne Craig. Although she has been around for a while, rumblings of a solo Batgirl film only began in 2017 when Joss Whedon was hired to direct, produce, and write the movie. But he ultimately left the project a year later, prompting WB and DC to rework their plans.
Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah from a screenplay by Christina Hodson, Batgirl is already in advanced stages of development, with filming already wrapped. In the Heights' Leslie Grace is leading the movie, with J.K. Simmons reprising his DCEU role as her father Commissioner Gordon and Michael Keaton appearing as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The villain in Batgirl is Fraser's Firefly, a sociopathic pyromaniac who commits acts of arson across Gotham. Earlier, specifics on Fraser's character weren't clear, but now there is an update on his role.
User Cristy Worley recently shared a video on YouTube showing Brendan Fraser at the GalaxyCon: Raleigh in North Carolina as he participates in a Q&A session with fans. During the event, Fraser teased his Batgirl role, revealing the identity of his villain as Ted Carson. The actor explains that Carson is a veteran who has lost his benefits. And this frustration has led him to become an arsonist, who is determined to put the entire Gotham City on fire. Read what Fraser said below.
"Ted Carson is the character's name. It's misprinted in the media, I have noticed that. It's a new character, it's a new day. He's quite cross, he's a veteran whose benefits have been cut, so he wants to burn Gotham to the ground. And Batman and Batgirl are there to stop him. Or are they?"
The comics character Ted Carson was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff for Batman #126, and he adopts the identity of Firefly after the incendiary Garfield Lynns. However, it seems that the Batgirl movie has changed Firefly's backstory, as in the original strip, Ted Carson was a wealthy gold mine heir who turned to a life of crime out of greed. But Fraser's Firefly costume in Batgirl still seems true to Carson's robotic flying suit. The previous set photos revealed similar black protective gear and a respirator mask. The ensemble also included a jet pack, which Firefly will likely use to cast his fiery wings.
Right now, it remains unclear why Batgirl has tweaked Firefly's origins. It could possibly be because the filmmakers want to give the villain a more compelling backstory, with pronounced emotional beats and a more believable motive. In the comics, Carson was a menacing threat, but the reasons for his villainy were not convincing enough to many. Firefly's updated past makes the villain more complex, adding a greater depth to the plot. It has been reported that Gotham in Batgirl is considerably darker and the movie looks at it with a critically investigative lens. Ted Carson's new characterization seemingly aligns with the thematic nuances of the film, allowing it the opportunity to address the bigger picture of the corruption in Gotham. That said, the new information about Fraser's Firefly builds up excitement for the movie, indicating that the villain will be one of Batgirl's most interesting aspects.
Source: Cristy Worley
