It came as quite a shock to fans when it was announced that Joss Whedon, the director behind two of the highest grossing comic book movies ever, ‘Avengers’ and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ for Marvel Studios, had crossed over to the Distinguished Competition to helm a movie based on DC’s ‘Batgirl’. No other info was offered at that time. No writers. No release date. No star.
That’s where the fans began chiming in (*ahem* Emma Stone *ahem*). But does Whedon– who made his name crafting the exploits of powerful young females, from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ to ‘Serenity”s River Tam– have his eye on any particular Hollywood stars for the lead role?
While walking the red carpet for Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Whedon took a few moments to address casting the “Dominoed Daredoll” (that’s literally how she used to be billed in the comics):
Photo credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
“There’s so many things to say about her. I’m very excited to see a girl in the cowl.
“No, I don’t have my eye on anybody. I’m creating this character. I’m in a dialogue with her. We’ll see who joins that later on.”
“I think this is somewhere where you go and find Batgirl and then you cast her.”
Unlike Marvel, which seems to pick recognizable, but not top dollar stars, Warner Brothers has enlisted A-Listers like Ben Affleck and Will Smith in hopes of drawing a broader audience.
Does that open the door to Whedon enlisting an established star or is it better to pick a fresh face, similar to Gal Gadot who had appeared in the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise but not much else before earning the title of ‘Wonder Woman’?
Whedon commented on that as well, saying:
“I’m not against movie stars. They’re great, but you need somebody who’s going to be just right. And, in a situation like this, the name carries a lot of weight… [It’s] definitely Vin Diesel.”
“What I’m looking for in a Batgirl is probably somebody new. Somebody who is willing to go the distance. It is going to be hard. I want somebody who’s going to get in the trenches with me.”
Well, Whedon left Marvel for DC, so why not Diesel? Just kidding.
Since we really don’t know when to expect to see ‘Batgirl’ in theaters, it may be too early to worry about it. You may recall, Whedon at one point was in charge of a ‘Wonder Woman’ movie that never materialized. Hopefully, ‘Batgirl’ won’t meet the same fate, especially since the DC Expanded Universe is now in full swing.
What do you think? Do you want to see an established star as Barbara Gordon? Or would an unknown be better in the role?
Jax's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes.
