Leslie Grace has teased her preparation for her lead role in Batgirl. The Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl made her comics debut in 1961, replacing Betty Kane, who originally held the superhero's mantle. The daughter of Gotham City Police Department Commissioner Jim Gordon, Barbara's first live-action appearance was in Adam West's Batman TV series, where she was portrayed by Yvonne Craig. Later, Alicia Silverstone played a version of the character for Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin, but the film wasn't exactly as popular among fans. Now, Barbara is getting the chance to shine under the spotlight in a movie of her own, as a solo Batgirl film is currently in the works at HBO Max.
A Batgirl movie has been in development since 2017. Initially, Joss Whedon was attached to direct, produce and write the movie, but he left the project in 2018 after he couldn't get the story right. Following his exit, Warner Bros. got the directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to take over the helm, at the same time hiring Birds of Prey and The Flash writer Christina Hodson to pen the screenplay. By July, a reported shortlist for the role of Barbara/Batgirl had also emerged, and only days later Grace, who made her film debut in Jon M. Chu's In the Heights, was finalized to play the part. Grace has since shared her excitement over being DCEU's new Batgirl, and recently she has also spoken about how is she is getting herself ready for her new job.
On Wednesday, while discussing the release of her new solo single "Bachatica" with Billboard, Leslie Grace opened up about her preparation for her role in Batgirl. The actress and singer revealed that she is training hard for her upcoming movie with her trainer, the notable stunt performer Ming Qiu. Grace says that she hasn't fought before in her life, hence she is practicing regularly to "get her body used to" all the action. She is also putting a lot of research into her character, reading all the comics to familiarize herself with Barbara's history and powers. Additionally, Grace is also taking notes from fans as to what they expect from her character, possibly to include their hopes for Barbara in her performance. Read what Grace said below.
"Lots and lots of training! I’m currently fight-training every day with my amazing “martial arts mom,” Ming Qiu, who cracks the whip! ... I’ve never fought in my life, so we are working really hard every day to get my body used to all the motions! I’m also reading a ton of comics and, believe it or not, keeping my eye out for tweets from our beloved DC comic fans to see what they are excited to see in my iteration of Babs! Research is everything ... I’m so excited to honor this iconic character whose legacy spans over 50 years. It’s a huge responsibility but also an honor -- and I want to do my very best to make sure she gets the best of all I have to give!"
Grace's casting as Barbara has been met with a definitive wave of excitement. Fans are thrilled about her turn as a Latinx Batgirl, and even prominent DCEU actresses like Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn) and Jurnee Smollett (Black Canary) have welcomed her gleefully to the franchise. Grace feels "honored" with the love and support she is getting for her new role, and promises to deliver her "very best" as Barabra. The actress has also expressed her excitement about a potential pairing with J. K. Simmons, who is speculated to reprise his Justice League role as Jim Gordon. Grace has made it clear that Batman won't be making an appearance in the film, so it will be all up to her superheroine to protect Gotham City. Other plot details on Batgirl continue to remain slim.
In light of Grace's comments, it seems that the Batgirl movie is shaping up to be one for the fans. Her statements about the martial arts training indicate that Barbara will possess her comics-accurate strengths in the new film, while the idea that Grace is taking feedback from DC fans suggests that the movie will probably incorporate the elements that they are most looking forward to seeing. At the moment, Batgirl still hasn't commenced filming, so it's difficult to make out what the movie would look like or what the potential plotlines would be. However, the film has already set an exclusive panel at the upcoming DC FanDome on October 16, so fans will probably learn some more details about Batgirl's cast and story at the event.
Source: Billboard
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3BvEzxy
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment