‘Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn‘ was just released to mixed results on the big screen. While critics, moviegoers, and fans of both the comics and films are loving it, there was one character they hoped would be in the film that wasn’t, and that was Batgirl.
Batgirl has long been a central character for the ‘Birds of Prey‘ so it was surprising to some that they didn’t find a way to fit her into the film. However, it sounds like it was never an option for the filmmakers.
According to producer Sue Kroll:
“You’ll not see Batgirl. Just gonna say ‘No.’ This is a studio question. That character’s in development on her own film, right?”
That is very true as a ‘Batgirl’ film has been officially in development since 2017 though we haven’t heard when the hero will grace the big screen. Sadly, ‘Birds of Prey’ was a missed opportunity to tie her in. However, producer Bryan Unkeless explained:
“… a lot of it also has just originated from Margot and Christina kind of having this fun, open canvas or being attracted to the characters. So there certainly are some of those studio primers, but this, by and large, is, ‘This character’s awesome!’ You know? And Christina and Margot would get excited about these characters, and it led us to the people we have on this wall.”
It sounds that one character screenwriter Christina Hodson and actress Margot Robbie weren’t excited about was Batgirl. As to how Robbie thought about putting the ‘Birds of Prey’ that we were able to see together:
“Yeah, it’s an eclectic group, which I love – that everyone has a distinct and different personality, and is coming from a different angle. You got Renee, whose set of morals… her moral compass points a very different way to Harley’s and Canary’s. Everyone’s kind of got their own rule of ethics that they abide by, and they kind of conflict with each other, which I think is always interesting in an ensemble.”
A lack of room, interest, and likely uniqueness is what kept us from our initial meeting with Batgirl. Of course, if the studio is using their in-production film as an origin story, it would also be convoluted and out of continuity to introduce us to the character at this stage of development.
Were you hoping that Batgirl would be introduced in ‘Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn’? Are you glad that they’re saving her for a solo movie to bring us the character? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Collider
