Holy Joss Whedon, Batgirl!
[dropcap size=small]A[/dropcap]ccording to Variety, Joss Whedon is said to be nearing a deal to direct, write and produce a feature length standalone film which will follow the adventures of DC’s Batgirl.
No other producers are currently attached to the film, but Whedon has reportedly met with comic book writer Geoff Johns and film producer Jon Berg to discuss the project, along with Warner Bros. Chief Content Officer, Toby Emmerich.
Barabra Gordon – who first appeared as Batgirl in the comics in 1967 – is undoubtedly one of the most popular figures in DC, but we’ve yet to see a solo film about her take flight. With so much material to work when it comes to Batgirl, we can’t help but wonder which comic book iterations of Babs the film will draw from. Hope Larson is the latest writer to take on Gordon in the most recent Batgirl comic book series “Beyond Burnside”, with illustrator Rafael Albuquerque.
Batgirl will be joining a whole line-up of planned standalone films of other DC heroes in the Extended DC Universe, including the likes of Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and the most recent addition of Nightwing.
The film is said to also feature other figures from the world of Gotham, and given her close relationship with Dick Grayson’s Nightwing in the comics, I’d happily bank on seeing the pair potentially cross-over into each other’s solo movies in some small way.
Whedon is, of course, no stranger to the world of superheroes thanks to directing the hugely successful Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. His signature sense of humour and stellar writing lent itself to the Marvel Cinematic Universe superbly, and it was undoubtedly partly thanks to him that those two films were such a fun experience.
You only have to watch an episode of Buffy, Angel or Firefly to know Whedon is one heck of a writer and director. With big budget films like The Avengers and Serenity under his belt, we know he can deliver box office winners that still have a lot of heart, and that’s just what DC needs.
If they added my favourite Batgirl writer Gail Simone to this film it’d be a dream come true, but for now, I’ll just have to keep on dreaming.
Right now, Whedon is the best possible gift DC could hope for in terms of a writer and director, and we can only hope he’ll deliver us the great DC standalone film Batgirl so sorely deserves.
Wonder Woman is the next DC film to hit the big screens, June 2.
