Deadline is reporting that Ivory Aquino has joined the cast of HBO Max's upcoming live-action Batgirl movie as Barbara Gordon's best friend, Alysia Yeoh.
She joins Leslie Grace (In the Heights) as the titular heroine, with a supporting cast consisting of Academy Award-winner J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man; Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Commissioner James Gordon, Brendan Fraser (The Mummy; Doom Patrol) as Firefly, Academy Award-nominee Michael Keaton (Batman; The Flash) as Bruce Wayne, and Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life; Without Remorse) in an undisclosed role.
Yeoh is known as the first canon transgender character in DC Comics lore, having initially made her debut in Gail Simone's Batgirl #1 in 2011 as Barbara's friend and roommate, before later coming out as a transgender woman in Batgirl #19. Aquino was actually spotted filming a scene with Grace on set last week, but we weren't 100% sure she was playing Alysia until now.
Plot details are unknown, but filming is currently underway with the directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life; Ms. Marvel) at the helm. Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn); Bumblebee; The Flash) penned the screenplay.
While no release window has been announced just yet, Batgirl is tentatively expected to launch on the HBO Max streaming service before the end of this calendar year, if not sometime early next year.