In The Heights star Leslie Grace is the new Batgirl

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She'll tackle the part of Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl

In The Heights
(Image credit: HBO Max)

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. 

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. 

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."

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Gem Seddon
Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.