A spoiler-free discussion.
Leslie Grace is set to play the iconic heroine in the upcoming film
For those old enough to remember, the first-ever moment viewers got to see Batgirl on screen was in the much-maligned Joel Schumacher 1997 flick Batman & Robin. Now, nearly 25 years later, the character will indeed finally have her moment in the spotlight once again, only this time, it will be in her very own solo film to be released on HBO Max in 2022, with Leslie Grace reported to be playing the titular heroine.
As the film is still in its early stages of pre-production, there has been little to no insider information to be gleaned from the project as of yet. That being said, there is but one piece of news from the production that has been verified over the last few days; the revelation that The Caped Crusader himself will not be making an appearance in the film.
While this news may come as a shock to most fans of the Bat Family, we believe that it would be more beneficial to the film and the Batgirl character herself if the writers left Batman out of the equation, at least, for now.
The reason we say this is because The Dark Knight himself casts a long shadow. Whether in a cameo or a full-on supporting role, the Batman would undoubtedly shift the focus away from Batgirl as he is a far more established character in the live-action adaptations. This could otherwise only serve to jeopardize Batgirl’s potential in establishing herself as a lead character, and it could very well result in a lack of interest from audiences towards Batgirl in future sequels.
Of course, seeing both Batman and Batgirl on screen once more would certainly be an excitingly memorable moment for fans like us. Still, for the sake of ensuring that Barbara Gordon shines as the main character in her own film, it is only logical that the bat should remain in his cave on this occasion.
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