Coming off the box office success of Sony‘s “Bad Boys For Life,” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were scooped up by Marvel Studios for their “Ms. Marvel” series for Disney+ and would help the studio bring fangirl-turned-superhero Kamala Khan, to life. Now, Warner Bros., and DC Films have tapped the duo to bring another well-known female superhero to the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter reveals they’ve been hired to tackle the solo “Batgirl” film that has been in development for a couple of years now. The project is also said to be heading to HBO Max.
READ MORE: ‘Bumblebee’ Writer Christina Hodson To Write Script For WB’s ‘Batgirl’
Batgirl is traditionally the alter-ego of Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. It has been a staple to the Batman franchise going back to the Adam West live-action series. The character was played by Yvonne Craig and then later in “Batman & Robin,” with Alicia Silverstone playing the role. In the comics, the heroine is paralyzed by the Joker and has a second life as Oracle.
There was talk from Deathstroke actor Joe Manganiello that Ben Affleck’s unmade solo Batman film would have had Batgirl show up.
READ MORE: Joss Whedon Exits ‘Batgirl,’ Says He “Didn’t Have A Story”
“The Batgirl” script was penned by Christina Hodson, who previously tackled DCEU projects such as “Birds of Prey” and “The Flash” movie. The latter film will introduce audiences to a new film version of Supergirl played by Sasha Calle, so clearly, Hodson is a big go-to writer for DC superheroines.
The studio dodged a huge bullet when Joss Whedon exited a previous incarnation of the project after growing allegations of abuse on the set from the filmmaker against multiple cast members over decades.