Ok, who saw this coming? Hands up, hands up...............LIARS!!!! The biggest curveball of all curveballs came our way earlier today, with Variety reporting that Joss Whedon is nearing a deal to join the DCEU as writer, director, and producer on a Batgirl solo movie. Yes, the man who was instrumental in forming the MCU is joining the Distinguished Competition. It’s pretty big deal (especially if Warner Bros. decide to throw mountains of shade at Marvel Studios and put “From the director of The Avengers” on the poster), since the studio interference on Avengers: Age of Ultron seemed to sour Whedon on super hero movies. On top of that, Whedon has a strong record with female characters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, anyone?) so having him tackle the fan favorite Batgirl is fantastic news.
As to which version of the character will be making the jump to the big screen, it’s gotta be Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon and the most popular of the character to pull on the purple and yellow. Rumours suggest that the movie will be taking a cue from the New 52 version of Batgirl, which saw Barbara putting on the cowl once again after an experimental surgery cures her of the paralysis that had been a core aspect of the character for decades after The Joker shot her in the spine in The Killing Joke, pursuing a higher education while fighting crime in her spare time and ealing with the trauma of The Joker’s attack. After writer Gail Simone finished her run (who did great work with the character in her previous persona as handler for the Bat-family, Oracle), the character was given a lighter tone and slight hipster makeover row what has become known as the ‘Burnside Era’. Either one is perfect fodder for Whedon to explore, with maybe the Burnside Batgirl being closer to his work on Buffy. But then again, is a lighter tone where the DCEU wants to go?
What’s really interesting about this piece of news is we may be privy to a new direction for the DCEU. Consider this: in the last few weeks, it’s been announced that The Batman is getting a full, page one rewrite, David Ayer is helming the Harley Quinn centric Gotham City Sirens, and The LEGO Batman Movie’s Chris McKay is directing Nightwing, which sees Batman’s sidekick Robin become a super hero in his own right. Is the DCEU going in a new direction, and just becoming the Batman shared universe? Of course, this is just pure speculation, but is worth thinking about.
As to which version of the character will be making the jump to the big screen, it’s gotta be Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon and the most popular of the character to pull on the purple and yellow. Rumours suggest that the movie will be taking a cue from the New 52 version of Batgirl, which saw Barbara putting on the cowl once again after an experimental surgery cures her of the paralysis that had been a core aspect of the character for decades after The Joker shot her in the spine in The Killing Joke, pursuing a higher education while fighting crime in her spare time and ealing with the trauma of The Joker’s attack. After writer Gail Simone finished her run (who did great work with the character in her previous persona as handler for the Bat-family, Oracle), the character was given a lighter tone and slight hipster makeover row what has become known as the ‘Burnside Era’. Either one is perfect fodder for Whedon to explore, with maybe the Burnside Batgirl being closer to his work on Buffy. But then again, is a lighter tone where the DCEU wants to go?
What’s really interesting about this piece of news is we may be privy to a new direction for the DCEU. Consider this: in the last few weeks, it’s been announced that The Batman is getting a full, page one rewrite, David Ayer is helming the Harley Quinn centric Gotham City Sirens, and The LEGO Batman Movie’s Chris McKay is directing Nightwing, which sees Batman’s sidekick Robin become a super hero in his own right. Is the DCEU going in a new direction, and just becoming the Batman shared universe? Of course, this is just pure speculation, but is worth thinking about.
