Warner Bros. and DC should be feeling pretty confident about their upcoming slate of projects given their recent successes, with both Aquaman and Joker sailing past the billion dollar mark at the box office despite the two movies residing at opposite ends of the spectrum. One is a brightly-colored, CGI-fueled blockbuster that doesn’t take itself too seriously, while the other is a gritty R-rated psychological thriller, yet both played well with critics and audiences to a huge degree.
Following the underwhelming formative years of the DCEU, the studio seem to have steadied the ship and now have an exciting slate ahead, with Birds of Prey next out of the gate in February 2020. Like many of the franchise’s previous efforts, Cathy Yan’s comic book flick was said to be in serious trouble, with John Wick director Chad Stahelski stepping in to helm extensive reshoots after Warner Bros. were said to be unhappy with the first rough cut of the movie.
This led to more speculation that Birds of Prey was shaping up to be another DCEU installment stitched together in post-production in order to save face, but a new report indicates that not only is the female-driven caper said to be aiming for an R-rating in the wake of Joker’s hefty profits, but the latest version of the movie has actually dramatically improved the finished product.
“In the case of Birds of Prey, the film won’t be in the pitch-black, grim vein of Joker. Insiders describe the film as a more humorous, spirited, girl-gang adventure, albeit not one for younger childer. A series of recent reshoots dramatically improved test screening results and the studio is confident Birds of Prey will be a hit when it opens in February.”
That’s hugely encouraging news for a movie that hasn’t been grabbing too many headlines recently, especially with Birds of Prey‘s release date being less than three months away. It looks like Joker has paved the way for DC and Warner Bros. to take more risks with their comic book properties, which will in turn give the filmmakers more creative freedom to do things their own way, without having to worry about heavy interference or pressure from the studio.
