Birds of Prey Producers Explain Why Barbara Gordon AKA Batgirl/Oracle is Not in the Film!
Batgirl, as Barbara Gordon/Oracle, is a key founding member of the Birds of Prey in the comics along with Black Canary. She, however, won’t be in the upcoming film beating up bad guys with Harley Quinn, Canary, and Huntress.
Why is that? Producer Sue Kroll explained to Collider it boils down to Barbara having a standalone film in development.
Related: Black Widow Takes on Birds of Prey’s Black Canary in Newest Super Power Beat Down
Kroll explained:
“You’ll not see Batgirl. Just gonna say ‘No.’ This is a studio question. That character’s in development on her own film, right?”
That she does! A Batgirl standalone film has been reported as in development for a while now. We reported on it as far back as 2017.
Related: Joss Whedon Reveals the Truth About Why He Left Batgirl
We learned this time last year that BOP scribe Christina Hodson was in the early stages of writing a script and could reveal nothing about the plot. She might not finish it right away as she picks up more DC Comics characters for her itinerary. Hodson is circling duties to write The Flash.
Joss Whedon was attached to Batgirl at one time but bowed out after failing, in his words, to come up with a story. A decade before he backed out of directing Wonder Woman.
Related: Batgirl Movie Writer Provides First Hint at What to Expect in New Interview
One other consequence of early development: no one is slated as of yet to star. A rumor broke last summer, though, 13 Reasons Why actress Katherine Langford is on Warner Bros. shortlist to play Batgirl.
Langford added fuel to the rumor, posting a photo of herself on Instagram around the same time sporting fiery red hair like Barbara Gordon’s.
Related: Is Harley Quinn the New Face of the DC Extended Universe?
Another reason Batgirl won’t be seen in BOP has to do with the primacy of Harley Quinn and actress Margot Robbie, who co-produces the upcoming film, in the DC Extended Universe. Fellow producer Bryan Unkeless explained:
“But a lot of it also has just originated from Margot and Christina kind of having this fun, open canvas or being attracted to the characters. So there certainly are some of those studio primers, but this, by and large, is, ‘This character’s awesome!’ You know? And Christina and Margot would get excited about these characters and it led us to the people we have on this wall.”
Robbie pitched the movie originally and commented on the “eclectic group” of characters with varying “angles” they bring:
“Everyone’s kind of got their own rule of ethics that they abide by, and they kind of conflict with each other, which I think is always interesting in an ensemble.”
Batgirl/Barbara Gordon may not be part of that ensemble but Cassandra Cain is. Cain took over for Barbara later on and wore the cowl which could happen down the line in the movies. Ella Basco, who plays young Cain, might even wear the cape when it does.
The Birds of Prey fly into theaters Feb. 6th.
Do you believe BOP is missing out by not incorporating Batgirl? Leave us your thoughts.
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