Joss Whedon may be returning to helm another comic book franchise as he’s in talks to write and direct ‘Batgirl’…
Joss Whedon knows a thing or two about making a kick ass heroine.
The ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ creator is currently in negotiations to write and direct a new ‘Batgirl’ movie for Warner Bros., which would join ‘Wonder Woman’ as another female led firm franchise for the studio.
Whedon is very familiar with comic book properties after his work on ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ while working with Marvel, but following the latter of those two movies he decided to take a break from the genre.
It appears Whedon is getting his groove back with the potential ‘Batgirl’ film now in the works.
Batgirl is best known as Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police commissioner Jim Gordon, who takes up crime fighting in Gotham City alongside Batman and Robin. Over the years, Batgirl has undergone numerous changes including the infamous ‘Killing Joke’ storyline where Barbara was shot and assaulted by the Joker, which left her a paraplegic. In the aftermath of that event, Barbara took up the mantle of Oracle where she still assisted with crime fighting duties from behind her computer.
Eventually when DC Comics rebooted the entire comics universe in 2011, Batgirl was revived with Barbara Gordon under the cowl during an iconic run with writer Gail Simone. Since that time, Batgirl has remained one of the most popular titles at DC.
In pop culture, Batgirl has most famously appeared in the 1960’s ‘Batman’ series as portrayed by the late Yvonne Craig as well as ‘Batman and Robin’ where Alicia Silverstone played the part opposite George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell, although the character was changed to be Alfred the butler’s niece as opposed to Commissioner Gordon’s daughter.
Whedon’s involvement is a huge land for Warner Bros. after so many of their projects have struggled to find a foothold while competing with Marvel Studios. Several films have undergone a change in directors or writers with very little critical praise for the first three films — ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Batman V. Superman’ and ‘Suicide Squad’.
Now if Whedon signs on to helm ‘Batgirl’ it could add some stability to an otherwise volatile roster at DC and Warner Bros.
H/T: Hollywood Reporter
