Odd as it may seem, the upcoming Birds of Prey movie won’t see an appearance made by Barbara Gordon. I know, whether she be addressed as either “Oracle” or “Batgirl,” the Commish’s daughter is arguably the heroine most synonymous with that particular superhero squad. But I guess we can’t always get what we want.
Aside from being muscled out of the picture by Harley Quinn, another explanation for Babs’ absence is that Warner Bros. may feel her introduction into the DC Extended Universe warrants a solo film of its own. Either way, they’ve awarded Christina Hodson the task of penning the screenplays to both Birds of Prey and Batgirl.
As one would expect, the media has been curious about both projects, with the scribe discussing each during various interviews. It was just last week that she offered a progress report on how Batgirl‘s script is coming along, but now Hodson’s speaking with Variety about her approach to writing for the icon:
“I’m in the middle of falling in love with her. I always feel differently at the beginning, middle, and end. Charlie [from Bumblebee] feels like an old friend now, because that was a while ago and because she is so personally inspired. Harley just feels like my crazy alter ego. When I’m feeling nuts, that’s what Harley is. And Batgirl…honestly it’s funny, 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.”
Of course, fans will wonder which comic books screenwriters look at when crafting their adaptations. While the jury’s still out on what served as Hodson’s inspirations, my gut tells me she’s been influenced by the “Burnside” era and what’s come since – but given her own personal twist:
“She’s been through so many iterations. There’s 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.”
Right now, there’s been no timetable given on a release date for Batgirl, but do know that Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) arrives in theaters on February 7th, 2020.
