By the year’s end, Warner Bros. and HBO Max will be releasing Batgirl, the studio’s first streaming-exclusive entry within the DC Extended Universe. The film will be the first live-action outing featuring Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl persona in the lead and will be played by Leslie Grace. But the film is also in talk because it factors the events of The Flash in the plot. The film will star Michael Keaton as Batman from Tim Burton’s original films Batman and Batman Returns, in his second outing in the DCEU, continuing his new character arc in the franchise from The Flash.
Keaton’s Batman in the movie will act out as the mentor to Barbara’s new vigilantism, giving both Leslie Grace and Michael Keaton ample screen time to share. Recently, Leslie Grace shared her experience of working with Keaton on the sets of Batgirl. Talking to Variety, Grace talked about her and the directors’ reactions upon seeing Keaton on the sets. She said,
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Keaton’s performance as Batman is regarded as one of the most iconic ones among all the live-action iterations, and his comeback in the role within the DCEU has raised several questions. Though his appearance was said to be a one-time outing in The Flash, wherein he’d have appeared as a multiversal version of the character; with his confirmed appearance in Batgirl, we can say that the former film will bring him closer to this DC Extended Universe. How his iteration of Batman would serve the DCEU and what impact it would have on the previously set up lore for Batman within the franchise will probably get clearer once The Flash releases.
It was wild for everyone. Our directors were like two little kids. They’re legit Batman nerds openly. He’s Batman, man! I couldn’t even believe that I was sharing space with Batman. I want to say more, but I can’t. It was insane, surreal, incredible. It was the stuff of dreams really.
Leslie Grace Has More Veterans To Share Screen With
Michael Keaton/Instagram
In Batgirl, J.K. Simmons will play her father, Commissioner James Gordon, reprising his role in Justice League. Sharing her experience of working with the Academy Award-winning actor, Grace said:
Grace further added details concerning the dynamic between Firefly and Batgirl in the movie. Brendan Fraser, the iconic actor from the original The Mummy films, will essay the role of the film’s primary antagonist. But as per Grace’s accounts, the actor who’d burn up Gotham in the film, is as graceful in real life as villainous he can be in front of the camera;
And J.K. Simmons playing my dad. That’s my pop. I was so nervous because all I could hear in my head was his voice in “Whiplash.” Like what would he do and say if I didn’t get something right? [Laughs]. Then we became the best of friends. And just he told me all his great stories of starting out and being a waiter and working in a pizza shop and trying to be an actor and doing theater.
Batgirl, following up on the events of The Flash will surely explain a lot about the expansion of the DCEU into its newly planned direction, while also introducing a new hero to the franchise. Batgirl will release sometime by the end of this year and will be straightaway made available to stream on HBO Max.
It was an incredible learning experience to be on set with also action veterans like Brendan Fraser, and soak up it all up. It was so hard because he’s our villain and I’m not supposed to like but he’s such a huge teddy bear. He is one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met. In our fight sequences the way he would just hit marks, it came from all of his experience. You can’t improvise that kind of experience. There’s some crazy stuff that happens. There’s lots of fire because as everyone knows by now, he plays Firefly. There’s crazy fire. There’s crazy stunts, crazy drops.
