Film

Good News, DC Has Hired A Woman Named Christina Hodson To Replace Joss Whedon On ‘Batgirl’

Fans are extremely happy a woman is writing the film.

by Patrick Lenton  10 April 2018
Batgirl

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Warner and DC have finally found their screenwriter for the beleaguered Batgirl movie. Her name is Christina Hodson, and she’ll be replacing Buffy and Firefly creator Joss Whedon.

Hodson’s credits include the upcoming Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, as well as the horror film Shut In and the 2017 thriller Unforgettable starring Rosario Dawson. She’s a perfect choice for the film, considering she’s also writing for Birds of Prey, a movie about an all-female crime fighting group which features Batgirl as a character.

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Roxanne Gay Is Volunteering To Take Over As 'Batgirl' Writer After Joss Whedon Quit

Batgirl will portray the life of Barbara Gordon, the daughter of a police commissioner who also moonlights as the titular superhero.

Joss Whedon was originally slated to write the film — something many fans were pleased about due to his work on the first Avengers film, as well as his experience writing female superheroes with the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

But many others considered him a rather poor choice. Some argued that Batgirl required a female writer, especially coming after the success of DC’s other big superhero film, Wonder Woman.

Whedon was also swept up in the controversy around sexual harassment and sexism in the film industry, when his ex-wife Kai Cole called him a “hypocrite preaching feminist ideals”.

Whether or not this had any bearing on Whedon’s decision’s to leave the project remains to be seen. Some also blame his departure on the terrible reception that Justice League, which Whedon co-wrote, received.

In a statement, Whedon said: “Batgirl is such an exciting project, and Warners/DC such collaborative and supportive partners, that it took me months to realise I really didn’t have a story.”

A story does seem important, tbh.

After Whedon’s departure, author Roxane Gay volunteered to write the script, which got people extremely excited. Even though this didn’t come to pass, fans are still massively hyped to have a woman writer on the project.