Brendan Fraser Receives Heartwarming Birthday Surprise While Filming 'Batgirl'

By Alyssa Fikse

Filming is underway for the upcoming Batgirl movie, and the cast and crew celebrated star Brendan Fraser's 53rd birthday. Director Adil El Arbi shared a photo of Fraser with a cake, as well as a charming video of the moment when they surprised The Mummy star with the on-set celebration. Fraser Is clearly emotional before jokingly telling everyone to get back to work.

"Yesterday was Brendan's birthday AND first day on set for Batgirl !!!" El Arbi wrote on Instagram. "Joyeux Anniversaire freroooo !!!"

Fraser is playing Firefly, a longtime Barman villain who likes to set things on fire, in the upcoming HBO Max Batgirl movie starring Leslie Grace as the title character. Fraser also voices another DC Comics character, the hero Robotman, in the HBO Max series Doom Patrol. Batgirl is set to be released exclusively to HBO Max in 2022.

Batgirl is directed by Bad Boys For Life duo El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, with a script from Christina Hodson, who previously worked on Birds of Prey, The Flash, and Bumblebee. Kristin Burr, whose credits include Cruella and Christopher Robin, will produce. J.K. Simmons is expected to play Commissioner Jim Gordon, whom he previously played in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Bad Boys For Life star Jacob Scipio has an unknown role in the project. Fraser's casting as Firefly was first reported by Deadline.

The plot of the movie is unknown. Batgirl was originally introduced in 1961 as Betty Kane, but the role was taken over by Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, in 1967. Barbara is the most familiar Batgirl, although other characters have taken the mantle, including Helena Bertinelli, Cassandra Cain, and Stephanie Brown. As for Firefly/Garfield Lynns, he is a sociopathic pyromaniac first introduced in 1952, although the more familiar incarnation of the character wasn't introduced until the 1980s. Lynns appeared in an Arrow episode, played by Andrew Dunbar, while Gotham introduced a female version named Bridgit Pike played by Michelle Veintimilla.

Fraser remains best-known for his string of hits in the 1990s and 2000s, including The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and the Best Picture Oscar winner Crash. Following a long break from movies, he returned in 2019 and is now in the middle of a career resurgence. He stars in Darren Aronofsky's next movie, The Whale, and has an important supporting role in Martin Scorsese's upcoming epic Killers of the Flower Moon. Fraser was also seen in Steven Soderbergh's latest movie, No Sudden Move. His recent television credits include Doom Patrol, Titans, Condor, Trust, The Affair, and Texas Rising. 

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