Earlier this week, we heard that Warner Bros. had begun testing for the lead role of Barbara Gordon in the HBO Max Batgirl movie, with Isabella Merced, Zoey Deutch, Leslie Grace and Haley Lu Richardson said to have read for the part. Now, THR is reporting that Grace has officially landed the gig.
Grace is best known for her breakout role as Tina in recent musical In The Heights, but has also made waves in the world of music, receiving three Latin Grammy Award nominations.
We recently learned that Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are set to helm the DC Comics adaptation. Christina Hodson, who wrote Bumblebee and also worked on Birds of Prey and The Flash, penned the most recent draft of the script.
Avengers director Joss Whedon was originally attached to helm Batgirl, but parted ways with the project back in 2018 after claiming that he failed to "crack the story." Adil and Bilall successfully revitalized the Bad Boys franchise with the highly profitable third installment, and also helmed episodes of the upcoming Disney+ Ms. Marvel series.
Plot details are still under wraps, but Batgirl is expected to feature Barbara's father Jim Gordon, and there's speculation that Firefly might be the villain. No release date has been announced, but the movie is reportedly scheduled to hit HBO Max sometime in 2023.