Ivory Aquino Becomes First Transgender In 'Batgirl'

JAKARTA - Actress Ivory Aquino will play the character Alysia Yeoh in the film Batgirl based on the DC Comics title. Alysia Yeoh is the first transgender character for the HBO Max streaming service. Both Aquino and the fictional character Yeoh are transgender.

Quoted from The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, January 25, this project marks a milestone for Warner Bros. and DC Films which feature trans characters openly.

On the small screen, Nicole Maines has played a trans superhero named Dreamer in the Supergirl series starting in 2018. In 2019, trans actor Zach Barack appeared in the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: Far From Home, playing Peter Parker's classmate.

Yeoh's character first appeared in the 2011 edition of Batgirl, written by Gail Simone and drawn by Ardian Syaf. Yeoh is a friend of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, a superhero played by actress Leslie Grace.

Aquino is best known for his role in the miniseries When We Rise (2017) which aired on ABC television. At that time, she played the role of transgender activist Cecilia Chung.

Quoted from ANTARA, news about Aquino's casting was first leaked online in mid-January after Grace shared a photo with Aquino through an Instagram story. Deadline became the first media to officially confirm the Aquino news.

In addition to Grace, Aquino will join the previously announced cast of Batgirl, including JK Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Michael Keaton, and Jacob Scipio.

In Batgirl, Fraser plays the villain and Keaton returns as Batman, the superhero he first played more than 30 years ago in director Tim Burton's films.

Bad Boys for Life filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are directing Batgirl. While the screenplay was written by Christina Hodson, who also wrote the films The Flash (2022) and Birds of Prey (2020).