Leslie Grace, who plays Batgirl in the next DC Extended Universe film, has revealed another character who isn’t Dick Grayson’s Robin or Nightwing. Batgirl will air on HBO Max later this year, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life) and written by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey). Grace (In the Heights) will play Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in the DCEU, battling Brendan Fraser’s Firefly, a serial arsonist who will almost certainly act as the film’s main nemesis. In Batgirl, J.K. Simmons plays GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon, and Michael Keaton plays Bruce Wayne/Batman, reprising his role from Tim Burton’s previous flicks.
Many interesting tidbits emerged during the making of Batgirl, including the fact that Keaton’s Caped Crusader had a Robin at one point. This has fueled discussion over whether Batgirl will be joined by Robin or Nightwing. Despite having a big role in HBO’s Titans, Bruce Wayne’s former protégé has yet to appear in the DCEU. Many people expected Jacob Scipio, the star of Bad Boys for Life, would play Dick Grayson when he was cast in Batgirl. Grace has now debunked that assumption and revealed the character he is portraying.
Grace spoke with E! News recently about her upcoming role as Batgirl’s lead. She reveals information about the supporting cast as well as facts about her portrayal of Barbara. According to Grace, Scipio will portray mob boss Anthony Bressi and will presumably join Fraser’s Firefly as a secondary enemy.
Bressi has appeared in the comics before, most recently in Batgirl Year One #7 in 2003. Grace’s alleged refutation, on the other hand, doesn’t rule out Nightwing appearing in Batgirl, or even Scipio portraying him. Warner Bros. “announced” Barry Keoghan’s character as GCPD officer Stanley Merkel when he joined The Batman in 2020, however this turned out to be a ruse because he was actually playing the Joker. This isn’t to say Grace is following in Batgirl’s footsteps, but there is precedent for a Nightwing Easter egg in Batgirl.
