Jena Malone’s Batman v Superman Character Didn’t Make the Final Cut, So Who Is She?
After years of speculating who Jena Malone would be playing in Batman v Superman, we’ve learned her part has been cut. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN??
Back in 2014 I reported on the original rumor of Malone’s casting which came from an extra on set speaking to local news. It eventually grew when other sources confirmed she’d been cast. The actor sported red hair for a time which also fueled the rumor she’d be playing either redheaded Barbara Gordon or Carrie Kelley of The Dark Knight Returns fame. These rumors went on…well, until now, really. No one had officially confirmed or denied who she’d be playing.
In a more recent Entertainment Weekly feature on the film they reported specifically on this:
One of the things cut from the theatrical release: A mystery character played by Jena Malone. Fans have been speculating about who she plays for months – and they’ll have to wait a few more before they find out.
“I think we should keep it private, but it’s nothing that’s been talked about,” Snyder says. “She’s definitely not Robin or Batgirl. I’m happy to say that.”
Some might assume Snyder’s wordplay means she’ll be Batgirl’s later persona Oracle but in one of my recent HitFix posts, I mentioned an EW writer seemingly debunked the rumor that Malone plays a “crippled Barbara Gordon.” (You can thank a redditor for that phrase) Malone could be Batwoman Kate Kane. Or Poison Ivy. There are a lot of redheads in the Batman universe, OK?? The only other thought I’d had was Mera considering we’re getting an Aquaman film. Or the hair could just be a misdirection.
As for who else we’ll see from the DC Universe in Batman v Superman, EW revealed some spoilery info about dream sequences we’ve guessed would be involved already.
Snyder says there’s a kind of A Christmas Carol aspect to these visions. Maybe they’re true glimpses of the future – or maybe they’re warnings.
The film is laced with dream sequences for both Batman and Superman that hint at dangers to come – including the possible appearance of DC’s galactic ultra-villain Darkseid. The Flash (played by [Ezra] Miller) appears in one such nightmare of Bruce Wayne’s, delivering a cryptic message to the Dark Knight.
Fans will have to debate whether it was really a dream, or maybe the kinetic hero breaking through time-space to deliver a warning. Synder calls this “a giant Easter egg” that he hopes will spawn plenty of online theories. “We had such a straightforward narrative, on one hand, I wanted this other layer of the movie to be complicated and bizarre,” he says.
Green Lantern, on the other hand, they’ve confirmed will not appear. They’ve got a lot more planning ahead for the reboot of that part of the franchise.
Whoever she’s playing, they cut Jena Malone. I feel like if you tried to cut Jena Malone, Jena Malone would cut you, so I’m sorry this happened. Zack Snyder probably needed stitches.
How nice of them to leak that she really is Barbara Gordon the same day I write about her not being her based on the official misinformation! https://mattthecatania.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/happy-1st-birthday-to-my-blog/
[…] ginger-dyed Jena Malone won’t be playing Barbara Gordon (the neice or daughter of the Commissioner, depending on your choice of continuity) or the Carrie […]
Something about Jena Malone strikes me as so effortlessly badass that I think that’s why they cut her from the movie– maybe she overshadowed other actors we’re supposed to be rooting for *cough*GalGadot*cough*.
I still think she is the Robin from DKR but maybe changed who she becomes
So she’s *not* playing Barbara Gordon? Oh, good. **relieved sigh** With the rumor that Malone was Babs and that she’d only be in the R version of the film, I was kind of freaking out that her only scene was going to be an R-rated Killing Joke flashback…
same same same
Though I’m really confused now. She has to be *someone* major for them to have kept her role quiet this long but…not important enough to keep in the film??
They’re saying Jim Gordon is dead in this universe, right? What about Commissioner Babs like in Batman Beyond? Or is she too young?
I think that’s right but yeah, maybe too young.
They could go halfway, I guess. Have Sergeant Gordon working her way to her father’s old job, kind of as a callback to Batman Begins.
Maybe she was Artemis but they ran out of time for more Amazons in order to showcase Batman origin flashbacks again.
I’m still into the idea of her as Oracle. As… unpleasant the implications of Oracle’s sole scene being in the rated R version, her inclusion, especially with a fairly famous actress attached, seems like it would be a good indication that they have a plan to do something with Oracle. That rumored Bird of Prey movie, perhaps?
Yeah, you’ve got a good point. I’m just really protective of my favorite character and don’t want to see her mistreated. It took years of being an Oracle fan to work up the courage to actually read The Killing Joke, so the an R-rated recreation (done by Zach Snyder of all people) is not something I want to have to watch.
Though since you mention the BoP, I was thinking: what if we’ve got the wrong Bird? Trying to think the way Hollywood does, what kind of character do they think is worth keeping so secret? What if instead of Babs, Malone is playing the original Huntress, Helena Wayne? Batfleck’s about the right age, and the daughter of Batman definitely seems like the kind of thing Hollywood would want to keep secret.
You know, this is the kind of discussion that would make a great topic over at The Accessible Clocktower… (Yes I’m still trying to make that a thing, shaddup. ;) )
I guess where I’m coming from is that I’m not planning to watch Batman v Superman as is, so if they had an R-rated Killing Joke scene, no big for me I’m not watching the movie. It would mean Oracle would be on the table, and that she could potentially have a different movie (with a different director and writing team, etc), which I would be interested in seeing.
Eh, Helena Wayne has never been in the Birds of Prey and she shouldn’t have red hair. Not saying Malone couldn’t be her, but if she was I kind of doubt it would have anything to do with the BoP, and she wouldn’t have the right design. Honestly, Oracle still seems a really likely guess to me, exactly because of the cut scene thing. I can see Oracle’s role in the movie being part of a flashback sequence of some kind that could easily be cut for time, and the idea that this Joker killed Robin could indicate a flashback for that and a possible related Flashback for Oracle, too.
Thus far, reports are claiming that the R-rating is for violence not sexuality or nudity, so if there is a Killing Joke flashback sequence, it would just be violent, it wouldn’t necessarily go full Killing Joke with it. It’s a bittersweet thought, because yeah I don’t want to see that part of it, but at the same once it’s out there, there’s quite a bit of good that could come from it.
No, wait! I’ve got it! She’s going to be Wayne Enterprises’ Executive in charge of Environmental Protections, Ms. Pantozzi! https://thenerdybird.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Screen-Shot-2015-10-04-at-4.35.06-PM.png XD XD XD
!!