There’s a good deal of uncertainty surrounding Batgirl at the moment, and a lot of that stems from the debacle that was Justice League. Due to the pic disappointing both critically and financially, the studio’s now lost faith in Joss Whedon, from what we hear, and are reconsidering letting him direct the aforementioned upcoming project. In fact, we’ve even heard that it might be cancelled outright.
Chalk that up as a rumor for now, but it’s clear that there’s some re-shuffling going on behind the scenes at Warner Bros. and unfortunately, Batgirl may be in trouble. Still, that hasn’t stopped various actresses from throwing their hat into the ring for the titular role and the latest to do so is Bumblebee and Pitch Perfect 3 star Hailee Steinfeld.
While chatting with MTV in a recent interview, the outlet told her that they think she’d be perfect for the role of Barbara Gordon, to which the actress said:
“Thank you! But I wasn’t… I didn’t know if I… what to say. I would love that.”
When asked if she’d like to one day play a superhero, she added:
“Yes, absolutely. Definitely on my bucket list, so, you know. New year, new me? Let’s see what happens.”
Though hardly a confirmation of anything, it’s nice to hear that Steinfeld is at least interested, as she’d no doubt make a great Batgirl. Her filmography is impressive, to be sure, and as a definite star on the rise, WB could certainly do worse than to cast her in the pic.
Back in June, we actually got word of the studio’s supposed shortlist for the role. The batch of names included The Neon Demon‘s Elle Fanning, Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), The Babysitter‘s Bella Thorne, Emma Roberts (Scream Queens), Don’t Breathe’s Jane Levy, Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why) and Power Rangers‘ Naomi Scott. Steinfeld isn’t listed there, of course, but that was also an unsubstantiated rumour, so there might not have been any truth to it and now that she’s voiced her interest, the studio might just start looking her way.
Batgirl is yet to nail down an official release date, but with Aquaman due late next year and 2019 earmarked for Shazam!, Wonder Woman 2 and, presumably, Gavin O’Connor’s Suicide Squad sequel, we wouldn’t be surprised if this spinoff slips into 2020. Hell, it may even join the Matt Reeves-directed Batman movie, which is said to be casting the net in search of “fresh talent” to replace Ben Affleck in the title role. Jon Hamm, anyone?