During the eight-year existence of the DCEU, many fans have been left shaking and scratching their heads at the franchise’s reckless approach to canon and continuity, something that’s poised to get even more convoluted and confusing now that the shared superhero universe is expanding onto HBO Max.
David Ayer’s Suicide Squad got a sequel of sorts that didn’t reference or acknowledge anything that happened in the movie, and The Suicide Squad didn’t pay much heed to Birds of Prey either. Margot Robbie doesn’t think her spinoff will get a standalone sequel, but Jurnee Smollett’s Black Canary is returning to headline her own HBO Max feature film.
Batgirl is also heading to the small screen with J.K. Simmons in talks to return as Commissioner Gordon, tying the project to the SnyderVerse seeing as the Academy Award winner debuted in Justice League, even though that pocket of the mythology concluded with the release of Zack Snyder’s four-hour epic in March, according to the Warner Bros. boardroom.
John Cena’s Peacemaker series is set directly after Gunn’s Suicide Squad that ignored Ayer’s, while Birds of Prey looks like a one-and-done effort that’s still getting at least one offshoot. It’s enough to give you a migraine, but we’re hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us Ben Kingsley was returning in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings long before it was confirmed – that there could be even more to come.
Based on what we’ve heard, HBO Max could be set to give Birds of Prey the old college try once again, this time with a more comic-accurate lineup. Leslie Grace’s Batgirl, Smollett’s Black Canary and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress will make up 75% of the team, which presumably means someone would need to be cast as Lady Blackhawk to complete the current roster.
