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Alicia Silverstone had some encouraging words for Leslie Grace, who’s taking on the role of Batgirl. The character of Barbara Gordon will be getting her first solo film soon, available to stream on HBO Max at some point this year.
Alicia Silverstone was the last actress to portray the character of Barbara Gordon on film, on 1997’s Batman & Robin. That was 25 years ago, leaving plenty of room for reinterpretation and reinvention in this new take on Batgirl. In an interview with Comic Book Movie, Silverstone sent her congratulations to Leslie, taking a moment to admire her costume.
“I think she‘s going to be wonderful. Her costume looks amazing and I’m happy for her. She must be very excited. Her costume looks way more comfortable than mine was. And a lot less vulnerable! Mine was like, ‘Bing!’ It‘s just weird,” said Silverstone, referencing the infamous costume she wore throughout Batman & Robin, a film that almost everyone associated with it finds incredibly embarrassing.
Silverstone has discussed her experience working on Batman & Robin in the past and how intense and traumatizing it was, particularly when it came to people’s comments on her body. “They would make fun of my body when I was younger. It was hurtful but I knew they were wrong. I wasn’t confused. I knew that it was not right to make fun of someone’s body shape, that doesn’t seem like the right thing to be doing to a human,” said Silverstone in an interview with The Guardian.
The new “Batgirl movie has all the makings of a great and fun superhero film, starring Grace, one of the most exciting actresses around, alongside J.K. Simmons, Michael Keaton, and Brendan Fraser. From the initial statements that have been released, Batgirl will focus on Barbara Gordon and her journey to becoming a superhero. The film will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who directed Bad Boys for Life, and is based on a script by Christina Hodson, who previously wrote Birds of Prey, meaning that she has some experience writing awesome female superheroes.