Deadline reports that Brendan Fraser (No Sudden Move) has joined the cast of Batgirl. While it's not confirmed, the trade believes the actor playing classic DC Comics supervillain Firefly. A member of Batman's rogues gallery, he's actually one of the first bad guys Barbara Gordon ever faced (along with Killer Moth) in the pages of Batgirl: Year One.
The character was first introduced in the pages of 1952's Detective Comics #184; while he's appeared in Arrow, Firefly has never actually been in a movie. Batgirl is heading to HBO Max, so it won't play in theaters, but giving him the spotlight in this adventure should make a lot of fans happy.
Leslie Grace will play Batgirl, while Jacob Scipio was recently added to the cast in a mystery role. However, as the Firefly rumours have been proven correct, we'd bet on him starring as Killer Moth.
No stranger to the DC Universe after playing Cliff Steele/Robotman in Doom Patrol, Fraser has been having a great year. The Mummy star landed the lead role in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale earlier this year, while Martin Scorsese tapped him for a big part in his upcoming movie Flower Moon.
Firefly should make for a formidable big bad in Batgirl. Very little has been revealed about the movie, though we do know J.K. Simmons is in talks to return as Commissioner Jim Gordon. While Deadline was first to break the news, The Hollywood Reporter has since claimed that one source tells them Fraser could actually be playing mobster Carmine Falcone. We'll see.
Borys Kit notes that Sylvester Stallone was first offered the part, and adds that another key role is Falcon's son who becomes romantically linked to Batgirl (that could also be Scipio's role).
Batgirl doesn't have a release date, but will likely start production in 2022.
UPDATE: Well, Firefly it is then...