In The Heights star Leslie Grace is the new Batgirl

After a lengthy spell in development hell, DC's Batgirl movie is pushing forward. The Wrap reports the HBO Max film now has its lead actor in the form of Leslie Grace. The In the Heights star appeared on a shortlist earlier this week alongside Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen) with Grace snagging the coveted role. 

You may recognize Grace from Lin Manuel-Miranda's latest musical opus, where as Nina, she starred opposite Corey Hawkins, the pair wooing each other across Washington Heights and even walking on walls. It should come as no surprise to learn her singing career has earned her three Latin Grammy Award nominations.

Her turn in Batgirl is no supporting role, however; she'll star in the pic as Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon who also goes by the superhero moniker Batgirl. 

Gordon first appeared onscreen in the 1960s Batman TV series with Yvonne Craig in the guise of Batgirl. Alicia Silverstone more recently tackled the part in the 1997 Joel Schumacher movie Batman & Robin.

We don't know much about the story, sadly. Producer Kristin Burr, who also worked on Cruella, promised the film will "take the audience on a fun ride and see a different side of Gotham." Attached to direct are Bad Boys For Life duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah from a script by Birds of Prey and Bumblebee scribe Christina Hodson. 

Before the Bad Boys team joined the project, Zack Snyder expressed desire to bring Batgirl's story to the screen, her involvement a part of his continuing Snyderverse – before he parted ways with Warner and DC, that is. "I always wanted Barbara Gordon to come in the movies," he told Esquire. "Commissioner Gordon would be on the way out, and we'd have Barbara starting to play a bigger role."

He went on to say: "My idea was that after Batman sacrificed himself, there would be a window where there was no Batman, and I thought Barbara could fill that until the child of Superman and Lois, who has no powers, would become Batman when he was of age."

The Batgirl movie is scheduled to land on HBO Max sometime in 2023. Ahead of its arrival, check out our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order and our rundown of every upcoming superhero movie.