Batgirl co-director, Adil El Arbi, has teased that filming for the movie will begin soon. Arbi, along with fellow co-director Bilall Fallah recently directed Bad Boys For Life, which performed very well for a movie released in 2020 during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They are also currently working for Marvel Studios as the directors of the upcoming Ms. Marvel series for Disney+. They have tapped Christina Hodson, who previously wrote Birds of Prey and the upcoming The Flash movie, to pen the screenplay for Batgirl. It is currently unknown when the movie will release in 2022, but it will be streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Leslie Grace will be playing Batgirl. Her previous (and first) film role was in WB's adaptation of In the Heights, which released to critical acclaim. While the plot for Batgirl is still under wraps, the movie will see J.K. Simmons returning to the role of Commissioner Gordon, who was last seen in Zack Snyder's Justice League. The movie is also rumored to see the return of Batman, but it is not known if it will be Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, or another actor playing the Caped Crusader. Jacob Scipio is currently playing an undisclosed role, and Brendan Fraser is playing the villain Garfield Lynns, also known as Firefly.
Now, co-director Adil El Arbi has teased the start of filming for the movie. In a recent Instagram Stories post from Arbi (via ComicBook.com), he shows off a meeting with what seems to be some of the crew of the movie. The caption on the post reads "Getting closer to shoot," which undoubtedly means that the movie will be filming relatively soon. Check out the post below:
Despite Batgirl's popularity in animation and the comics, DC has not given the character much time to shine in live-action adaptations. This upcoming movie will be great for those who want to see a new version of Barbara Gordon on the big screen. It also continues WB's trend as of late of not really sticking to a strict line of continuity. While Simmons' Gordon will appear, the fact that an unknown version of Batman could potentially appear, shows that they are less worried about that. This could work in the movie's favor, as WB/DC have had success with movies like Joker not being connected and the upcoming The Batman seeming to follow that trend.
The image posted by Arbi is an exciting update from the highly anticipated Batgirl. With the movie releasing some time in 2022, filming will most likely take place within the next few weeks to ensure that the movie hits its release date. It is also clear that the directors have passion for Batgirl and the movie itself, which is also reassuring. The solo Batgirl movie is important for the character to get her time to lead a film, and this movie seems to be heading toward that.
Source: Adil El Arbi (via ComicBook.com)
