We recently learned that Leslie Grace had landed the role of Barbara Gordon in the upcoming HBO Max Batgirl feature after testing for the part alongside the likes of Isabella Merced, Zoey Deutch, and Haley Lu Richardson. The In The Heights star took to Twitter shortly after to share her excitement for the project, but has now spoken about joining the DCEU as Gotham's other protector for the first time.
During an interview with ET, Grace was asked about nabbing the part of such an iconic DC Comics hero, and revealed that the news came as quite a surprise.
"It was a crazy shock," she tells the site. "I mean, obviously I had been auditioning. It was a whole process, you know? But it was just, like, mind-bending. It's still mind-bending to think about it, and we're about to embark on this insane journey. But I found out via Zoom, because COVID world. The directors and the studio were on, and they kind of try to make it a surprise. They tried to make it like I was doing a final test, and then they sent me an email saying, "I'm Batgirl" and had me read it. And I was just like, "I'm not reading that! I don't know what's happening right now!"
Batgirl is reportedly scheduled to begin shooting early next year, but pre-production may not be quite as far along as we've been led to believe, as Grace has yet to even see her costume!
"No, I'm dying!," she said when asked if she'd tried on her outfit yet. "They haven't told me anything, I honestly cannot leak anything, even if I knew. But I have no idea! I think probably until I head off, I won't know much, but I'm dying to know what that outfit looks like. I know that I'm going to be fitting, like, 35 different fittings for this costume."
Grace has been doing some research on the character in preparation for her DCEU debut, and says she's "learned a lot of things about Barbara that are very in line with me."
"She's someone who's been underestimated by even her own dad and being the youngest kid, sometimes you're insulated from all of the tough stuff of life and she's so eager to prove to herself and to everybody else that there's some things that she can handle. So, this journey is definitely going to show me a lot of that. I feel like I'm on an endless journey of proving to myself what barriers I can break, what limits I can break for myself and I'm excited to put a little bit of that eagerness and drive and, like, almost a bit of stubbornness into Barbara's character."
Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are set to helm the DC Comics adaptation. Christina Hodson, who wrote Bumblebee and also worked on Birds of Prey and The Flash, penned the most recent draft of the script.
J.K. Simmons is reportedly in talks to reprise the role of Babs' father, Jim Gordon, but his involvement is yet to be made official. Grace certainly hopes se signs on, though: "If you're listening, huge respect and please play my dad! I hope you're my dad."