Captain Marvel is on her way. Finally.
Fans have been clamoring for a Captain Marvel movie since about as long as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been around, but for whatever reason Marvel Studios has been slow to put the project together. Kevin Feige intended to introduce the popular hero at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, but obviously that didn’t happen. And even when Marvel announced that they had cast Oscar-winner Brie Larson as the superhero last July, the news didn’t come with any accompanying details. You know, little things like who would actually direct the danged movie.
Also: The 60 Live-Action Marvel Movies: Ranked From Worst to Best
Variety reported today that filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck will co-direct the Captain Marvel movie. The duo has been responsible for several acclaimed independent features, including the Ryan Reynolds gambling drama Mississippi Grind and the high school Half Nelson, which earned Ryan Gosling his first Oscar nomination. They have also directed episodes of the television series The Affair and Billions.
Captain Marvel is expected to arrive on screen in a somewhat different form than fans are used to. (Her history gets a little convoluted in the Marvel comic books.) But essentially she’s a human who gets infused with alien DNA and gains superpowers like strength and flight as a result. Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve are writing the screenplay. The film is due in theaters on March 8, 2016.
The Top 10 Actresses Who Should Play Batgirl:
Top Photos: Marvel Comics
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The Top 10 Actresses Who Should Play Batgirl
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10. Evan Rachel Wood
It’s definitely not clear yet what age the DCEU version of Barbara Gordon will be, but if Ben Affleck’s Batman is in his 40s, then it would make sense of Babs to be in her 30s. Wood is very well-liked for her work on HBO’s Westwood and, based on that, she could definitely work well in the darkness that Batfamily stories tend to take on. And… she is definitely the fan favorite front runner right now.
Photo: Kevork Djansezian / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
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9. Holland Roden
The first redhead on the list, you may know her from MTV’s Teen Wolf television series where she plays a character with a lot of presence who is often positioning herself as a leader. Roden is no stranger to genre storytelling and could absolutely convey the high stakes that would make up any big budget Batgirl story. Imagine all that hair coming out the back of a black or purple cowl!
Photo: Angela Weiss / Getty Images for Republic Records
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8. Malese Jow
An actress who has already had a chance to play in the DCTV Universe as Linda Park on CW’s The Flash. Malese Jow was wonderful in her work there and could bring a lot of spunk to the role of Barbara Gordon that would make her a lot of fun to see opposite whoever is going to be playing Nightwing. Not only that, but Jow brings a nice collection of awards and nominations with her into any role she takes on.
Photo: Miquel Benitez / Getty Images
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7. Naomie Harris
Naomie Harris is one of the best parts of the latest incarnation of the James Bond franchise and could bring that same grace and presence to Barbara Gordon that she did to Moneypenny - elevating a character people may not know that much about. She comes directly off Moonlight, for which she was highly celebrated, that would put her on a similar level as Ben Affleck. Harris’ Batgirl could hold her own against Bruce Wayne or anyone else she shared a scene with - and we also know she can handle running combat scenes after Skyfall!
Photo: Steve Granitz / WireImage
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6. Jessica Brown Findlay
Fans of Downton Abbey will know Jessica Brown Findlay for playing the spirited youngest daughter of the Crawley family. She is a trained ballerina and an actress with an amazing sense of movement and storytelling with her body. This would make her a natural to take on the more physical aspects of playing Batgirl where other actresses may possibly fall short. Particularly if she is going to wind up paralyzed in future DCEU films, having an actress with a great sense of physicality will be paramount.
Photo: Samir Hussein / WireImage
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5. Madelaine Petsch
The youngest person on this list, also known for a popular comic book television adaptation - Riverdale. Petsch’s dramatic performance as Cheryl Blossom is a fan favorite and translating that to Barbara Gordon could be a lot of fun, particularly if the character is going to go on to star alongside some of her fellow female superheroes in a Birds of Prey movie. She would bring more of a father/daughter relationship to Batman and Batgirl, but that could be a really nice way to soften the edges of Affleck’s Batman.
Photo: Maarten de Boer / Getty Images Portrait
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4. Ziyi Zhang
If you are a North American, you probably first saw Ziyi Zhang in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Since then she has enjoyed a highly celebrated career with a few different forays into wushu movies. This would put her into a unique position for being able to execute martial arts and combat on screen that could really differentiate her version of Batgirl from anyone else. Ziyi Zhang would be a peer to Batman (and Wonder Woman as well!), which could lead to her taking a stronger leadership role inside the Batfamily. That would be really cool!
Photo: George Pimentel / WireImage
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3. Megalyn Echikunwoke
The second Arrowverse actress to make it onto this list. Echikunwoke played Vixen in both her eponymous animated series and in live-action on Arrow. She has proven that she can hold her own against more well-known male characters, which is a real concern with Batgirl transitioning into the DCEU , and that she can handle high energy combat scenes that may or may not be augmented by metahuman abilities per the identities of the combatants. Vixen is also a character very defined by the city she comes from, much as Barbara Gordon is a true daughter of Gotham. She could easily highlight the effect of the setting on the vigilante.
Photo: Rob Kim / Getty Images
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2. Alicia Vikander
With her new role as Laura Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot, Vikander is proving that she is up for the physical challenges that come with playing a superhero. She is also no stranger to genre films, having garnered a lot of attention for her role in Ex Machina. She is at the perfect place in her career to take on a superhero role and has more than proven that she has the acting chops to take on a character with as potentially complex emotional journey as Batgirl could have. Plus, we could easily believe that she worked as a librarian.
Photo: Dan MacMedan / Getty Images
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1. Rose Leslie
Looks aren’t everything, but it is tough not to put a redhead on the top of a list to play Barbara Gordon. Rose Leslie’s previous roles have put her through a gauntlet that seems like a training ground specifically to play the most beloved version of Batgirl. On Downton Abbey she played Gwen Dawson who was obsessed with educating herself and learning as much as possible at every available opportunity, a performance that she could easily adapt to portraying the eidetic memory and extreme intelligence that has come to define Babs. After that, as Ygritte on Game of Thrones , Leslie confirms that she can handle specific demands of a genre project with a devout fanbase and that she has the prowess to handle a physically demanding role. All of this, on top of her appearance, make her the best - and perhaps most obvious - choice to bring Barbara Gordon Batgirl to life in the DCEU.
Photo: David M. Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images
