Batgirl Movie from Joss Whedon reportedly based on New 52

Yesterday, Joss Whedon (Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) broke the internet when it was announced that he had signed on to write, direct and produce a Batgirl movie for Warner Bros. and DC Films. Now Entertainment Weekly has some more details about the film, which they say will be based specifically on the New 52 version of the character from fan-fav writer Gail Simone.

Click here to catch up by ordering your copy of the Gail Simone’s New 52 Batgirl Vol. 1!

Begun in 2011, the New 52 Batgirl was Barbara Gordon after she had recovered from The Joker shooting her in the spine (as depicted in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke) due to experimental surgery. Although still haunted by the event, she’s out of the wheelchair and back on the streets fighting crime. Besides the great writing of Simone, one aspect that may have drawn the very progressive Whedon to the series is its introduction of Alysia Yeoh, the first openly transgender character in a mainstream comic book and Barbara’s best friend. Like that run of the comics, the Batgirl movie is expected to carry a gritty tone, and hopefully will also include Ben Affleck’s Batman and J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon.

Seriously, my greatest hope right now is that Alysia is in the movie, that would mean a lot to so many. Plus, she’s fun! — GAIL SIMONE (@GailSimone) March 31, 2017

It’s confirmed that Whedon’s Batgirl movie will be part of the ever-evolving DC Extended Universe that includes the upcoming Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman and The Batman solo film, as well as another female-centric entry in David Ayer’s Gotham City Sirens.

No other producers are attached to the Batgirl movie, though Toby Emmerich, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns will oversee the project for the studio, which apparently only came into being within the last month.

Batgirl’s first comic appearance in 1967 was as Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, and she later became an ally of Batman and Robin in Gotham City. She was previously portrayed by Yvonne Craig in the campy ’60s Batman series, then by Alicia Silverstone (as Barbara Wilson, Alfred’s niece) in the equally-campy 1997 flop Batman & Robin. She was recently voiced by Rosario Dawson in The LEGO Batman Movie.

Whedon, who had previously written a treatment for his own Wonder Woman movie a decade ago, was last said to be working on a World War II horror movie, but he has stated previously that he would like to make a Batman film.

Are you excited to see the New 52 version in the Batgirl movie? Let us know in the comments below!