CAPE & COWL

‘Batgirl’ Casts First Openly Trans Character in DC Feature Film History

Ivory Aquino, a transgender actor, will play Alysia Yeoh, who first appeared in a 2011 comic book issue of “Batgirl.”

Batgirl has found Barbara Gordon’s bestie in actor Ivory Aquino, Deadline reported Monday. The When We Rise star will portray bartender Alysia Yeoh, who was the first major transgender character to appear in a mainstream comic book upon her 2011 debut. Yeoh will be the first openly transgender character to be represented in a live-action film adaptation of a DC Comics title. Aquino will join an already-stacked cast, including Leslie Grace as the titular masked hero, Brendan Fraser as the film’s villain, J.K. Simmons as Batgirl’s father, and Michael Keaton finally back in the batsuit, decades after he first appeared in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman flick. Speculation that Aquino, who is transgender, had been cast first sparked earlier this month after Grace posted a shot of what appeared to be the film’s set, tagging Aquino and referencing Yeoh in the caption. A release date for Batgirl, currently in production, has not been announced.