The other week, Margot Robbie went all Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) on us when she announced the official title of her next DCEU film, and since you still probably haven’t memorized it, we’ll reprint the name in full here: Birds of Prey (and The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Yes, it’s an absolute mouthful, and just as no one mentions Birdman by its full title, we imagine most people will continue to refer to Cathy Yan’s upcoming film as “Birds of Prey” under most circumstances. But one thing that’s got folks talking is that the title may indicate what kind of tone the movie’s shooting for. And given that it’s a pretty silly moniker, fans are beginning to worry that the pic itself might not take itself too seriously.
This was only compounded when Margot Robbie herself said as much on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But here to ease our fears is industry insider Daniel RPK, who reports that despite its ridiculous title, Birds of Prey will still be “dark, gritty and violent,” just like the fans want it to be.
Granted, we’ll need to see some footage first before knowing for sure if that’s the case, but it’s nice to hear regardless, as this is certainly a film with a lot of potential. Besides Robbie, you’ve also got Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell confirmed as Huntress and Black Canary, respectively, while Ewan McGregor has been cast as the villainous Black Mask. It’s a stellar line-up of talent and has us hopeful that this could be the first genuinely great DCEU team-up movie.
Buzz surrounding the script is also pretty strong and it’s clear that the studio has a lot of faith in the project. With any luck, then, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will be able to escape the commotion surrounding its bizarre title and prove itself a hit when it arrives in theaters on February 7th, 2020.