Batgirl Director Reveals First Set Photo From HBO Max Movie

By Aeron Mer Eclarinal Updated:
Batgirl movie set

Batgirl is one of the upcoming projects on HBO Max's DC slate. The straight-to-streaming movie is directed by Bad Boys for Life's directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, and it will star In The Heights actress Leslie Grace as the titular Caped Crusader. Alongside Grace, Batgirl also features Jacob Scipio in an unknown role and Brendan Fraser as its villain, Firefly

The HBO Max film has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the years. Initially, The Avengers director Joss Whedon was attached to the movie, but he ultimately left the project. 

After that development, El Arbi and Fallah were hired to helm the film as well as The Flash writer Christina Hudson. Batgirl has no release date yet, but fresh looks at the film have been revealed during DC FanDome 2021. During the online event, first official concept art of the movie was unveiled, giving fans a taste of what's to come. 

Now, an important update about the film has emerged. 

HBO Max's Batgirl Begins Filming 

Bilall Fallah, one half of the directing team on Batgirl, confirmed on Instagram that filming for the HBO Max movie has officially begun. 

Fallah shared a new set photo to celebrate the filming start, showing off Barbara Gordon's desk in the Gotham Police Department headquarters: 

Batgirl, HBO Max
Instagram

The Bad Boys for Life director also shared the following caption alongside the image: 

"#BATGIRL 🦇 DAY 1 !!! #alhamdulillah 🙏🏽"

Will HBO Max Reveal Batgirl's Suit Soon?

This latest development is clearly a good sign for Batgirl and its fans. Based on what's been revealed, it appears that the upcoming DC movie is eyeing a potential mid to late 2022 release. This would fit the current production timeline of the film. 

Given that filming has already begun, there's a good chance that a fresh batch of set photos will appear online, thus giving fans the first look at Leslie Grace's Batgirl suit. This could hint that HBO Max would officially reveal the hero's costume sooner rather than later. 

It's worth pointing out that the same thing happened with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The first wave of set photos from the DCEU sequel showcased Zachary Levi's new costume, prompting Warner Bros. to officially unveil the superhero's updated design. 

On a separate note, the first set photo appears to hint that Batgirl will be set during the holiday season, as evidenced by the Christmas ornaments attached to Barbara's desk. If this is the case, then it will be interesting to find out what Gotham looks like in a festive time. 

Barbara's transition into the GCPD also hints at her DC Comics-related future. In the comics, Barbara eventually took over the GCPD as Commissioner after her father, James Gordon, retired. 

Whatever the case, more details about Batgirl could be revealed in the near future. 

- About The Author: Aeron Mer Eclarinal
Aeron is a news/features writer and Content Lead for The Direct who has been working for the site since March 2020. From writing about the inter-connectivity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to having an extended knowledge about DC TV's Arrowverse, Aeron's expertise has since expanded into the realm of reality TV, K-drama, animated, and live-action shows from Netflix,  Disney+, Prime Video, MGM+, Peacock, Paramount+, and Max. When he isn't writing and watching all things MCU, Aeron is heavily invested with the NBA (go Celtics!) and occasionally watches thrilling matches in the WWE.