‘Batgirl’ casts Ivory Aquino as first trans character in DC film

Ivory Aquino has joined the cast of ‘Batgirl’, the upcoming superhero film that Bad Boys for Life‘s Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are directing for HBO Max, reports Deadline Hollywood.

Aquino will star alongside previously announced cast members including Leslie Grace, JK Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Michael Keaton and Jacob Scipio.

Batgirl is based on the DC comics created by writer Gail Simone and artist Ardian Syaf. While specifics with regard to the film’s plot are being kept under wraps, it will center on Gotham City police commissioner Jim Gordon’s (Simmons) daughter, Barbara (Grace). Aquino will play Barbara’s best friend, bartender Alysia Yeoh—the first major transgender character ever to appear in a live-action film adaptation of DC comics.

Aquino is best known for turns in the Netflix series ‘When They See Us’ and ‘Tales of the City’, and in ABC’s ‘When We Rise’. She’s also featured in series including ‘Blue Bloods’, ‘FBI: Most Wanted’, ‘New Amsterdam’ and ‘High Maintenance’, as well as Isabel Sandoval’s ‘Lingua Franca’ and other films.