For awhile, Warner Brothers and the DC Universe have been looking up at Marvel, which has been consistently churning out hits. Meanwhile, DC has struggled to produce the same success.
On Thursday, Variety reported an exclusive story about a new DC movie coming out in the future that Warner Bros and DC Films hope will finally launch them ahead of Marvel.
Batgirl is swinging into theaters at some point in the near future, and will be directed by none other than the man who brought The Avengers to the big screen, Joss Whedon.
A BATGIRL movie by @joss? YESPLEASE! If Babs wears yello docs & there's even a MENTION of Burnside I'll lose my mind https://t.co/0mc1clg9Kh pic.twitter.com/M7WltJVkM1
— Brenden Fletcher (@brendenfletcher) March 30, 2017
Whedon is closing to finishing up a deal with Warner Brothers and DC to write, direct, and produce the Batgirl movie. Securing him would be a huge get for the DC Universe, since he has a long history of success in the comic book movie genre with Marvel. He has both written and directed The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Perhaps more importantly for a Batgirl movie, Whedon created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the first — and best — female action heroes of modern pop culture. Considering what he did with Buffy (which hit the airwaves 20 years ago), it’s exciting to think about what he could do with Batgirl. (This could also scratch an itch Whedon had to make a Batman movie, which he once pitched long before he brought Earth’s Mightiest Heroes together.)
https://twitter.com/adamhlavac/status/847490964499316736
Right now, Whedon is the only producer or writer on board (or at least close to on board). This movie will also be the first-ever standalone movie for the Batgirl character. The heroine has appeared in The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Batman & Robin, and other movies and TV shows.
https://twitter.com/Daniel_Eliesen/status/847489716001816577
The Batgirl movie will not be the first DC movie to focus on a female lead, however, as Wonder Woman is slated to be released on June 2, 2017. (Incidentally, Whedon was also once attached to make a Wonder Woman movie in 2005.)
"Here's who should play Batgirl, without any knowledge of the script's plot, tone, characterization" – every geek site in 20 minutes
— Bitter Script Reader (@BittrScrptReadr) March 30, 2017
Right now, the news is so fresh that no actresses have been rumored to be attached to the project. Despite no actress yet being mentioned for the role and nothing being close to official, comic book movie fans seem to love the move.
When you were just playing Marvel to get to DC pic.twitter.com/D9yUNcxlo9
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 30, 2017
[Variety]