Batgirl Movie Lands Bad Boys for Life Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Shutterstock; Silver Screen Collection/Getty Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (L); Yvonne Craig as Batgirl
A Batgirl movie is officially happening!
The DC Comics heroine's own film adaptation is set to be helmed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who directed last year's Bad Boys for Life, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Centered on Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, the superhero film will be written by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey), while Kristin Burr (Cruella) is producing. (Joss Whedon was originally set to write and direct.)
"With Batgirl, we hope to take the audience on a fun ride and see a different side of Gotham," Burr told THR. "Christina's script is crackling with spirit."
She continued, "Adil and Bilall have an excited and joyous energy, which is infectious, making them the perfect filmmakers for this Batproject."
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Alexander Tamargo/Getty Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
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"And I'm just psyched I get to be part of the DC universe, which is super cool," Burr added.
Originally known by the alias Betty Kane, the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl was first introduced in 1967 as part of the Adam West-led Batman TV series, with Yvonne Craig assuming the mantle.
In a 2015 interview with CNN, Craig — who died later that year — said, "I hear from women that I was their role model. 'When I was a little girl, I realized that girls could kick butt just like guys,' [they'd say]."
The most recent live-action appearance of Batgirl was in 1997, when Alicia Silverstone played the character in Batman & Robin.
Walt Disney Television via Getty; DC Comics/Warner Home Video/Moviestore/Shutterstock; Warner Bros. Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Batgirl as portrayed by (from L to R) Yvonne Craig, Tara Strong and Alicia Silverstone
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In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Silverstone, 44, opened up about the discouragement she felt around the time she starred in Batman & Robin.
"That definitely wasn't my favorite filmmaking experience," she told the outlet of making the movie, which also starred George Clooney, Uma Thurman and Chris O'Donnell.
Silverstone revealed that she "stopped loving acting for a very long time" following her portrayal of Batgirl, after which the film was critically panned and the actress said she faced public body-shaming that temporarily deterred her from the Hollywood world.
"There were working circumstances that were less than favorable in terms of how things went down," she said. "And no, I didn't say 'F--- you' and come out like a warrior, but I would just walk away and go, 'Okay, I know what that is and I'm done. I'm not going near that again.' "
THR reports that Batgirl is set to be released on HBO Max.
