If you follow news about the DC Extended Universe closely, you know that there are a lot of movies in development for the franchise. Since March of 2017, one of those movies has been Batgirl, and originally Joss Whedon was tasked with writing and directing Barbara Gordon's standalone movie. However, back in February, Whedon announced that he was exiting Batgirl due to not being able to come up with a good story. A few months later, we're no closer to learning who will replace Whedon as director, but on the writing side of things, Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson is now tackling the Batgirl script.
Along with penning Shut In, Unforgettable and Bumblebee (the upcoming Transformers spinoff starring everyone's favorite yellow Autobot), Christina Hodson already has some DC movies experience under her belt, as she was hired to write the Birds of Prey movie. Today, THR dropped the news that Hodson has been hired to pen the Batgirl movie. Despite an earlier rumor claiming that because of Whedon's exit, Batgirl was no longer a priority, with Hodson now working on the story, it sounds like DC and Warner Bros are still keen on having Barbara Gordon star in her own theatrical adventure. So far in the movies realm, Batgirl has been portrayed in live action only once, with Alicia Silverstone playing her in 1997's Batman & Robin. However, Rosario Dawson voiced the character in last year's The LEGO Batman Movie.
Since Christina Hodson has already written a Birds of Prey movie, she already has some experience working with Batgirl, as Barbara Gordon is one of that superhero team's regular members. Ideally that will help her succeed where Joss Whedon failed. Whedon is already well-immersed in the superhero genre, having directed the first two Avengers movies and overseen Justice League's reshoots. However, when it came to Batgirl, Whedon was unable to crack the story after a year, and now it's up to a new creative mind to put together a captivating tale for one of DC Comics' most popular superheroines.
Batgirl is just one of several Bat-related movies in development for the DCEU, with others including The Batman, Nightwing, Gotham City Sirens, a Harley Quinn/Joker movie and Suicide Squad 2 (after all, that last movie is filled with several Gotham City denizens). Back when Joss Whedon was attached to Batgirl, it was initially rumored that he was using Gail Simone's New 52 run on the Batgirl comic book for inspiration, although after he left the project, it was reported he was considering adapting "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl," Barbara Gordon's first comic book appearance. We'll have to wait and see what source material Christina Hodson looks to for her particular story.
Batgirl doesn't have a set release date, although it had been reported pre-Joss Whedon's departure that this movie and Flashpoint were being considered to follow immediately after Wonder Woman 2. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates, and don't forget to scan through our DC movies guide to learn what other DCEU projects are in development.
