The first look at concept art from the upcoming Batgirl movie show's Leslie Grace's suit and red hair. The Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl made her comics debut in 1961, replacing Betty Kane. Barbara was introduced as the daughter of the Gotham City Police Department Commissioner Jim Gordon and she made her first live-action appearance in Adam West's 1961 Batman TV series as a character played by Yvonne Craig. Later, Alicia Silverstone also played the role for Joel Schumacher's 1997 Batman & Robin movie, but that is the only time that Barbara has appeared in a feature film. Now, however, the beloved DC heroine is getting a chance to shine in a project of her own as a Batgirl movie is in the works at HBO Max.
Originally, Joss Whedon was supposed to write, direct, and produce a Batgirl movie, but he left the project in 2018. After his departure, DC and WB hired The Flash screenwriter Christina Hudson to pen the screenplay and Bad Boys for Life duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to helm the movie. In July, In The Heights actress Leslie Grace was finalized to play the lead part. Recently, Adil and Billal dropped some hints about what Grace's Batgirl costume would look like in the upcoming movie. They teased that her outfit, helmet, and cowl are inspired by the super-heroine's getup from the 2014 comic book arc Batgirl of Burnside. At that time, there was no visual reference for the costume, although now, fans can get a good look at the ensemble Grace will be sporting in the upcoming movie.
On Saturday, Batgirl's exclusive panel at the DC FanDome revealed the official look at Leslie Grace's superhero costume in new concept art for the highly anticipated film. The art offers a zoomed-out look at Barbara's outfit, yet still, the Burnside inspirations, red hair, and cowl are all quite perceivable. Grace has confirmed that she'd be dyeing her hair for the movie, with directors Adil and Bilall insisting that they are going "full in" with their version of Batgirl. Take a look at the artwork below.
Besides donning a comics accurate costume, Grace has also been training hard to authentically embody her role as Barbara. The actress is learning to fight daily with her instructor and she is also thoroughly researching the comics to familiarize herself with all the nuances of her character. In a recent interview, the star additionally revealed that she is following a lot of fans' tweets to see what they expect from her performance, and she is trying her level best to live up to their expectations.
The new artwork doesn't give away much about Grace's appearance as the super heroine in Batgirl. The angle, for one, doesn't offer a good look at her character, and the scale is also deliberately disproportioned. It appears that at this point, the filmmakers do not want to reveal too much, and they are probably saving the costume reveals for later on. But fans are also understandably anxious to find out what Grace will look like in the upcoming movie. They, however, shouldn't worry too much, as Batgirl is scheduled to begin filming next month.
Source: DC FanDome
