Exclusive: Batgirl vs Supergirl Movie In Development
We've exclusively learned that the studio is now working on a Batgirl vs. Supergirl movie.
Update November 2022: While this appears to have been in development, DC went through a major shift, even canceling the film Batgirl movie. Supergirl was recast after Sasha Calle played Kara Zor-El in Flash.
What is ahead for the DC Cinematic Universe? We know the immediate upcoming films, but when it comes to movies for DC, many have questioned what their vision is for their franchise, especially with multiple Batmans running around. Now, we have Sasha Calle playing Supergirl in The Flash and Leslie Grace has just signed on to play Barbara Gordon for a Batgirl movie. What’s next for these characters? Our trusted and proven insider has learned that Warner Bros is currently developing a Batgirl vs. Supergirl movie.
We learned that at this point, the movie is in development, which means it’s in the early enough stages that a timeline isn’t something that we can speculate on. We’ll first be seeing Sasha Calle as Supergirl in The Flash, and we’ll be meeting Leslie Grace in Batgirl. There’s been talk of a Supergirl solo title, and it’s unknown if Batgirl vs. Supergirl would come first in this timeline. This means that DC is planning out further ahead for these titles than they’ve seemed to be planning recently, which is promising. They’re starting up with these characters and planning to go somewhere with them.
Is Batgirl vs. Supergirl where they should be going with them, though? The “vs” is probably going to give a lot of people a lot of reason to pause. DC fans may be having flashbacks to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which could have been better. That may dampen the excitement for a lot of people when they consider a possible Batgirl Vs. Supergirl film. On one hand, it’s great that they have future plans for these characters and we’re going somewhere with their stories. On the other hand: Doesn’t the studio know that superheroes can do things other than fight each other when they get together? They’re allowed to take on the villains together.
On top of this, there are the optics of having two powerful women characters and then having them fight each other. The writers for a Batgirl Vs. Supergirl script are going to have to be very careful to make a movie about two powerful women fighting without it reading as a catfight, which is historically a term considered to be used as a way to demean women’s anger. Writing this in a way that allows both of them to have legitimate reasons for fighting each other, and fighting in ways worthy of two people with superpowers, is going to be something they’ll have to look at carefully.
Beyond the recent DC past with Superman and Batman having a Vs film that many didn’t enjoy, and the possible catfight elements that could come along with a Batgirl Vs. Supergirl movie, there’s the DC source material. In the comics and the animated series, Batgirl and Supergirl usually like each other. While Superman is usually a mantle held by Clark Kent, and Batman is Bruce Wayne, Supergirl and Batgirl are mantles held by many different characters. Still, their history of friendship is a long one. They show up, find another woman with cool abilities, and then get along quite well. For a lot of fans of these two characters, having them fight instead may feel like a betrayal.
What would be better than a straight-up Batgirl vs. Supergirl movie would be something like Batgirl and Supergirl vs. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. There is precedent for this in DC history, and if Warner Bros is developing this script right now, they could easily have a story where Leslie Grace’s Batgirl faces off with Sasha Calle’s Supergirl in the first act, they become best friends, and then meet up with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn in a massive battle that topples some of Gotham’s buildings, all while finally introducing Poison Ivy in a new DC movie.
If Warner Bros is looking for Batgirl vs. Supergirl source material, it exists in DC comics and animated series. Margot Robbie, who plays Harley Quinn, has said that she isn’t going to be taking on any solo Harley Quinn movies. Everyone wants to see her as Harley Quinn in more projects, so DC needs to give her more team-up films. And she keeps asking them to give her a Poison Ivy to play off of. So, maybe, if DC is listening, we could have a great big DC cinematic adventure where Batgirl vs. Supergirl leads to the hero pair teaming up and then really take on Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The groundwork is there. All DC needs to do is see what’s right in front of them and make it awesome.
All of this being said, Batgirl vs. Supergirl has a plot written in the concept, right? The two are going to face off. A fight is coming. The big question, then, is who will win when the two finally have it out? Supergirl often has the disadvantage that she seems a little too nice, where Batgirl is more willing to bend some rules, but Supergirl is also supposed to be even stronger than Superman, which gives her an edge. Who will when they finally battle? And what happens after? Do they come out of it unwilling allies? And if so, what future does DC have for the pair beyond a Vs film? We’ll be watching as they figure these questions out.
