Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have confirmed that the Dark Knight will appear in the new film planned for HBO Max. Before you get too excited, the duo has not revealed which version of Batman it will be.
While chatting with VRTNWS, Arbi and Fallah danced around revealing too much about The World’s Greatest Detective fighting crime alongside Barbara Gordon in the new film.
“Now you’re asking too much,” Arbi said. “I can say that it’s really Batman Batman.”
“But who, we can’t say,” Fallah added. When asked if the actor in question was someone who’d played Batman in the past, like Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, or Val Kilmer, Arbi said, “I don’t think we’re allowed to go into that much detail.”
Way to be vague, guys, though I suppose this comes with the territory of working on something as secretive as Batgirl. Before today’s report, Batgirl actress Leslie Grace had told reporters that Batman would not be making an appearance in her new film. “Batman’s out — he’s doing a whole bunch of stuff — so I’m going to need some of my ladies to help me out on this next run, you know what I’m saying?” Grace said, seemingly pointing toward a team-up with members of the Birds of Prey.
It was reported earlier this year that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the directors behind Bad Boys for Life, had been tapped to helm the Batgirl movie. Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson has penned the script, and she has previously teased that she’ll be remaining faithful to the character while also giving fans something new.
“There’s a little piece of me in every character I write. They start with me, and then they take on a life of their own. [Barbara Gordon’s] been through so many iterations. There are certain characteristics of hers that are always there that I’m excited to develop further. Whenever I’m writing a character who’s based on someone who’s existed in a previous form, whether it’s comics or a movie or anything, I always hope to bring something new to them and bring them to life in their own way, even if they fairly iconic like Harley Quinn or Batgirl. I think fans want the original, to be honest, but they also want to see something they haven’t seen before.”
Which Batman do you think is going to make an appearance in Batgirl? Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight would make the most sense, but then again, perhaps someone new will don the cape and cowl for this version? Or, Batman will simply appear off-screen, like as a voice in Batgirl’s cowl or something of the like. It’s a little too early to tell, but you can bet that when the Batgirl directors reveal who it is, it’ll be very big news.
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for any updates on Batgirl when DC Fandome kicks off this coming weekend.