Joss Whedon is jumping ship from Marvel to Warner Bros. and DC Films. The director is close to finalizing a deal to write, direct and produce a standalone Batgirl movie, which will be part of the studio’s DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Batgirl is one of the most popular superheroes in the world, but has never gotten her own movie. The project will also feature other characters from the world of Gotham.
Batgirl first appeared in DC Comics in 1967 as Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon in “The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!” by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino.
The Batgirl project will be the second movie from DC Films to star a female lead after Gal Gadot’s “Wonder Woman,” which opens June 2. Extensive footage of the film was shown Wednesday at CinemaCon.
Whedon would be making a big move from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its DC counterpart, having written and directed “The Avengers” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” for Disney-Marvel. He also created the television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” “Firefly,” “Dollhouse,” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe launched with 2013’s “Man of Steel,” followed by last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad.” Its upcoming films, which have already been dated, include “Wonder Woman”; “Justice League,” debuting Nov. 17; and “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa and hitting theaters in December of 2018.
The studio is also developing a “Suicide Squad” sequel and “Gotham City Sirens,” a spinoff to “Suicide Squad” with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn character; “The Batman,” starring Ben Affleck with Matt Reeves directing; a “Shazam” film and a Black Adam spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson; and projects based on the Flash and Cyborg characters.
