Next February brings the latest R-rated comic book movie from DC and Warner Bros., with Birds of Prey hoping to follow in Joker’s footsteps and turn out to be a huge success at the box office. While it probably seems a little far-fetched to expect Cathy Yan’s female-driven ensemble flick to come anywhere close to replicating Joker’s billion-dollar haul and subsequent awards push, the recent critical and commercial renaissance of the DCEU certainly positions The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn to be an early-year breakout hit.
Birds of Prey hasn’t been without issues, given the reports that John Wick’s Chad Stahelski was drafted in to direct some extensive reshoots after the studio were unhappy with an early cut of the movie, but the word is that the additional shooting has markedly improved the project, with Warner Bros. now confident that the team-based caper will be a surefire hit.
The marketing campaign for Birds of Prey likely won’t kick into full gear until after the holiday season, but a new batch of images showing the major characters have been released this week and you can check them out below.
Based on the photos we’ve seen so far, Birds of Prey is going to be visually striking at the very least, a far cry from the formative stages of the DCEU where the palette was a whole lot murkier. Yan is clearly going for a more light-hearted and fun adventure given the aesthetic on display, all led by Margot Robbie’s undeniable star power, with the Academy Award-nominated actress even more invested in her return as Harley Quinn given her role now that she’s pulling double duty as one of the movie’s producers.
Hopefully Birds of Prey is R-rated for a reason, as opposed to a knee-jerk reaction caused by both concerns about early versions of the movie and Joker’s incredible success. A comic book film led by one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars should be an easy sell to most audiences, but we’ll just need to wait and see if the latest installment in the DCEU continues the franchise’s recent hot streak.