One of the big news stories of 2017 so far is that Joss Whedon is writing and directing a Batgirl movie for Warner Brothers as part of their DCEU. And now the iconic Whedon has been discussing his plans for the project.

Speaking to Variety at the world premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Whedon enthused, “I have so many things to say about her, I’m very excited to see a girl in the cowl.”

What’s most interesting, though, is that Whedon is looking to cast a relative unknown as the titular Barbara Gordon. He explained, “I don’t have my eye on anybody. I’m creating this character, I’m in a dialogue with her and then we’ll see who joins that later on. I doubt it’ll be a name. I think this is somewhere where you go and find Batgirl and then you cast her.”

He continued, “I’m not against movie stars, they’re great, but you need somebody who’s going to be just right, and a situation like this the name carries a lot of weight, so it’s not as critical.”

All that we really know about the film so far is that it will reportedly pull its inspiration from Gail Simone’s fan favourite comic book run with Batgirl that began as part of the New 52 reboot in 2011. What’s most notable about that run is that it saw Babs regain the use of her legs following being shot and paralysed by the Joker in the classic The Killing Joke arc.

As ever, expect more on Batgirl as it develops.