Mere days after the shortlist of potential actresses being eyed for Batgirl, the next crime fighter has been cast.
The In The Heights (2021) breakout star is the third Latina actress to be cast in a DC superhero project as Grace is a Dominican-American performer. She follows Sasha Calle's casting as Supergirl in The Flash (2022) and Rachel Zegler in Shazam!: Fury of the Gods (2023). Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon was introduced into the Batman mythos 50 years ago and remains to be one of DC's most popular superheroines.
The project was announced in 2017 when director Joss Whedon was still attached to the film. Whedon left the film in 2018 and was replaced by the duo of directors behind Bad Boys for Life (2020) Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The script was passed on to Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, Birds of Prey) to pen.
Both Batgirl and Static Shock will stream through the service while establishing ties to the live-action DC Extended Universe that screen cinematically. President of DC Films Walter Hamada described the pair of upcoming movies as "riskier," insisting that they are a better fit for smaller budgets and non-theatrical releases. Batgirl has not received an official release date from the studio, though it has been implied by Warner Bros. that a 2023 date is in mind. Batgirl and Static Shock will both be produced as HBO Max exclusive features.