The rumor of DC Universe developing a Batgirl TV show may have been debunked by a comment from Titans producer Akiva Goldsman. DC Entertainment’s online subscription service, DC Universe, launched last month, but many fans are looking forward to the premiere of Titans, the first original series set to premiere on the streamer. Titans may be the first of DC Universe’s original TV shows, but it won’t be the last. An animated Harley Quinn TV show, Doom Patrol spinoff, live-action Swamp Thing series and other properties are also in various stages of development. One that hasn’t been officially announced, but has been rumored, is a live-action Batgirl TV show.
The rumor surfaced last month and indicated Warner Bros. has ordered a Batgirl television series that will premiere on DC Universe in 2020, with speculation pointing to Jessica Jones showrunner Melissa Rosenberg shepherding it to the streamer. However, this rumor arose amid news of Warner Bros. developing a Batgirl solo movie. Originally, Joss Whedon was set to write and direct a Batgirl film, but he departed the project earlier this year. Still, Warner Bros. has been focused on developing female-led DC movies this year, and it seemed Batgirl was one of those projects. Now, a DC Universe producer may have debunked the Barbara Gordon TV show rumor when discussing Batgirl appearing on Titans.
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In a roundtable interview with Screen Rant and other publications during New York Comic Con, Akiva Goldsman revealed Titans originally included Batgirl in the TV show. When asked if Batgirl could show up in a future season of the show, since Titans has been renewed for season 2 already, Goldman said he doesn’t think it will happen. In his explanation of why that is, he hinted the movie side of DC won’t let the TV shows introduce Batgirl (and other characters) until the studio has had a chance to give them the big screen treatment. Goldsman said:
There was a moment in the ongoing transformation of the DC cinematic universe that features was getting to say, ‘Well, we’re going to do a thing and then if it works, great, and if not maybe you can do a thing.’ And Geoff [Johns] grabbed Robin and held him – holding onto Dick Grayson for a TV show was not exactly their favorite idea, but that was really Geoff just protecting it. So we actually, if you think about it [we have] like a startling number of characters, with one noticeable absence in Cyborg, a startling number of characters who in other contexts might have been spun off, so we’re guarding them preciously. We have a few more, but there’s some we ain’t going to get.
It’s unclear from Goldsman’s comment where Batgirl falls in between DC movies and TV, but it seems reasonable to deduce she’s one of the comic book characters they “ain’t going to get” since the question was about Barbara Gordon specifically. As such, Goldsman has seemingly confirmed Warner Bros. and DC Films are still holding onto Batgirl as a character they want to adapt to the big screen before letting TV take a shot at introducing Barbara Gordon. If that’s the case, Goldsman has inadvertently debunked the rumors DC is looking to produce a Batgirl TV show rather than a film.
With that said, Goldsman doesn’t explicitly say DC isn’t developing a Batgirl television series, just that it seems unlikely Titans will be able to introduce Barbara Gordon as a supporting character or part of the ensemble cast. It may simply be a case of DC wanting Batgirl to lead her own property, whether that’s a movie or a TV show remains to be seen. Considering all the movement on the Batgirl movie since Whedon’s departure – Warner Bros. hired Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson to pen the script – it seems unlikely the studio would move the property over to TV. Still, fans won’t know what the future holds for Batgirl in live-action until something is officially announced – and it’s unclear when such an announcement will arrive. Until then, DC fans have plenty of other TV shows and movies to look forward to.
