James Gunn and Peter Safran have been placed in charge of rebooting the DC Universe with Superman: Legacy, and in doing so, are also introducing several other heroes to the big screen, so who is Hawkgirl? Hawkgirl is one of the heroes already confirmed to appear in the movie thanks to news broken by Vanity Fair. Superman: Legacy will introduce a Green Lantern, Mister Terrific, and Metamorpho in addition to Hawkgirl.
Like a lot of DC heroes, there have been more than one Hawkgirl on the comic book pages. Which version of the hero is brought to the screen could determine which type of story will be told concerning the character. With this particular lineup of heroes, however, it looks like Gunn and Safran could be bringing a version of the Justice Society to the big screen to either team up with or go against their new Superman (David Corenswet), and Hawkgirl could be one of the members.
The Complicated DC History Of Hawkgirl
The first Hawkgirl was created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville for Flash Comics in 1940. Named Shiera Sanders Hall, she wouldn’t actually appear in costume as Hawkgirl for another year. She was created alongside Hawkman and the two frequently appeared as a superhero duo, and were reincarnated ancient Egyptians with superpowers.
A new version of the character, Shayera Hol, debuted in the 1960s. The new versions of both Hawkgirl and Hawkman were no longer reincarnated Egyptians, but instead, from an alien planet. They were members of law enforcement from the planet Thanagar and were married. They traveled to Earth to study Earth’s different policing systems, which made for a drastically different backstory. That version of Hawkgirl eventually changed her superhero name to Hawkwoman.
The explanation for the two different versions of the characters, of course, comes down to DC’s multiverse. One pairing was said to reside on Earth-1 and the other on Earth-2. Hawkgirl’s backstory would be retconned again with the 1985 event Crisis on Infinite Earths, however, which combined parts of the multiverse to get rid of multiple versions of characters. Much of the power that Hawkgirl holds, no matter which version it is, comes from a belt made of Nth metal. Prolonged exposure to the material can also increase super abilities in a person.
Yet another version of Hawkgirl named Kendra Saunders was also introduced in DC Comics. This version was the granddaughter of the original Hawkgirl’s cousin, Introduced in 1999, Kendra Saunders is still connected to that original Hawkgirl storyline. After taking her own life, the soul of the original Hawkgirl walked into her body, allowing her to remain alive and giving her new abilities. This version of the hero most recently appeared in the series Legends of Tomorrow. It’s this last version of Hawkgirl that will likely be coming to Superman: Legacy, though that hasn’t been officially confirmed.
Who Is Playing Hawkgirl In Superman: Legacy?
Hawkgirl will be played by Isabela Merced in Superman: Legacy. Merced as Hawkgirl is one of the casting announcements broken by Vanity Fair. Merced is probably best known for playing the live-action teenage Dora the Explorer in Dora and the Lost City of Gold. That’s not her only claim to fame though, and Hawkgirl isn’t even her first role in a superhero movie or in a big franchise.
Merced previously had a big action movie role in Transformers: The Last Knight with Mark Wahlberg, though she hasn’t been part of the Transformers movies since. She does, however, play a Marvel character in an upcoming movie. Merced is one of the many stars of Sony’s Madame Web movie. Her character has never been confirmed, but speculation suggests she might be playing one of the women to hold the Spider-Woman mantle, Anya Corazon. With big action movies and comic book characters on her resume already, Hawkgirl should be a fun role, but with familiar production ground for her.
Does This Mean Hawkman Will Still Be In The DCU?
Though James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the DC Universe of movies and TV with Superman: Legacy, some actors and characters are being held over from previous projects. John Cena, for example, will still play Peacemaker in upcoming DCU projects after starting in the role in The Suicide Squad, even though that movie isn’t part of the new DCU canon. What’s not clear is if any of the new actors who made their DC debuts in Black Adam, like Hawkman actor Aldis Hodge, will appear.
Since it hasn’t been confirmed which version of Hawkgirl Merced is playing, it’s also not clear if her character will have a connection to Hawkman or not. Hodge is not one of the DC actors whose appearance in future projects has been confirmed by Gunn, but he has been cast in the Amazon Prime series Cross, based on the James Patterson novels about the detective Alex Cross, as the titular character, so he might be very busy if that series becomes a success for the streamer.
Superman: Legacy isn’t expected to hit theaters until 2025, so there could still be plenty more casting announcements on the way.