Leslie Grace is reaching new heights. The singer/songwriter and actor, known for her breakout role in In the Heights, is joining the DC Universe as Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Bad Boys for Life filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are directing Batgirl, from a script by Christina Hodson, the DC mainstay behind Birds of Prey and the upcoming The Flash. Kristin Burr is producing.
In addition to acting, Grace has made a name for herself in the world of music, receiving three Latin Grammy Award nominations and scoring two top 10 hits (“Will U Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “Be My Baby”) on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart.
Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon, is the most famous version of Batgirl, who has had multiple characters don the cape and cowl. Batgirl originated in 1961 as Betty Kane, with the character revamped in 1967 for the Batman TV series for its third season, when network executives wanted to attract a female audience to the series. Yvonne Craig played the character on the ’60s TV show, with Alicia Silverstone playing her in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 movie Batman & Robin.
The Batgirl film has been in development for several years, with Joss Whedon signing a deal to write and direct in 2017 and dropping out a year later.
Batgirl does not have a release date, but Warners has previously indicated it will likely bow on HBO Max in 2023.
Grace is repped by CAA.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
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