Warner Bros. has plans for another stand-alone superhero movie, and the studio has just the director for the project. Marvel vet Joss Whedon is closing in on a deal to write, direct, and produce a Batgirl movie, Variety reports.
Whedon seems like an ideal choice for the project. Beyond the success he had with The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, he is also the creator of the cult TV series Buffy the Vampire, which featured a wildly popular female protagonist. Whedon has earned a reputation for creating captivating and badass heroines.
The success the writer-director has had with Marvel is key. Warner Bros. made a respectable worldwide box office showing with both Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, but both films received mixed responses from critics and fans alike. Marvel has been winning the superhero battles in the eyes of moviegoers, so it makes sense for the DC Extended Universe to snap up one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s proven players in a bid for similar results.
Assuming the deal is finalized, Whedon will be the first producer attached to the new DCEU project. It reportedly originated just within the past month, so the lead actress hasn’t been cast yet. Whedon makes for a great starting point and will surely help the studio attract interest.
The studio has been putting a lot of eggs in the DCEU basket, with strong interest in female-driven projects. Batgirl will follow in the footsteps of fellow heroine Wonder Woman, whose stand-alone flick starring Gal Gadot is coming to theaters in June. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is also working on a Suicide Squad spinoff centering on Margot Robbie’s popular character Harley Quinn.
We don’t know yet when Warner Bros. is aiming to release the Batgirl film, but whenever it comes, it is overdue. Although Batgirl has been around since the 1960s, she has never headlined a movie.
