The long-in-development Birds of Prey movie has burst into life. And not a moment too soon.
Earlier today, for instance, we brought you the news that both Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell were circling the roles of Huntress and Black Canary, respectively, as Warner Bros. begins to locate its ensemble cast for the female-fronted spinoff.
Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is still the crux of the movie, of course, given the Aussie actress is also expected to produce the pic and help director Cathy Yan fine-tune her vision of Gotham’s leading ladies. Together, they’ll be going up against the villainous Black Mask, and while Jason Statham was once tipped for the coveted role, Variety scoopster Justin Kroll has relayed some new Birds of Prey intel which suggests Warner Bros. is now considering Sharlto Copley and Obi-Wan himself, Ewan McGregor, for the vacant part of Black Mask.
So while news of Winstead and Smollett-Bell’s respective castings has undoubtedly set the Internet alight, there is still much work to be done before Birds of Prey can enter production in earnest. As Kroll mentions in his scoop, neither Renee Montoya nor Cassandra Cain have been cast, while Warner Bros. seems to have one or two actors in mind for Black Mask, a sadistic villain big and ugly enough to give Batman a run for his money.
But Birds of Prey takes place in a Bat-free Gotham City – even Batgirl has been ruled out of the DC adaptation – so it’s up to Huntress, Black Canary and the Clown Princess of Crime, Harley Quinn, to set aside their differences in the face of a common enemy.
Birds of Prey sees a release in February of 2020.
