Warner Bros.‘Birds of Preyhas found its director. One of several Harley Quinn movies that wound up in development following the success ofSuicide Squadis moving forward, as the studio has tapped newcomer Cathy Yan to helm this ensemble adventure, with Margot Robbie not only returning to reprise her role asHarely Quinn, but she will also be involved as a producer as well. It looks like this movie could begin filming before the end of the year.
Cathy Yan only has one movie under her belt, the indie Dead Pigs, but she reportedly beat out several well-established, male directors for the job. Not only becauseMargot Robbiewanted the movie to be directed by a female, but because her presentation reportedly was exceptional. Yan, outside of her single directorial effort, started out as a reporter for theWall Street Journalbefore making her way into the world of filmmaking. A project of this size and scope is certainly going to help put her on the map.
Hiring such an unexperienced director for a project likeBirds of Preymay be considered risky in some respects, but it also makes sense. For one, Cathy Yan is said to have earned the job with her vision, so there’s that to consider. Also, it’s no secret that the DCEU has faced its fair share of trouble thus far, withWonder Womanbeing the only movie to find both critical and financial success. Not only doesWonder Womancenter on a female hero, but it was directed by a woman in Patty Jenkins. Warner Bros. has had the best look with women behind the camera when it comes to DC so far. This is a female-driven story and it makes sense to have a woman tell that story.
Birds of Prey, in the world of DC Comics, features a team that consists ofBlack Canary, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and Huntress. In the movie version, Harley Quinn will be joining them. Christina Hodson, who wrote the upcomingBumblebeemovie, penned the screenplay forBirds of Prey. She was also recently hired to write theBatgirlmovie for Warner Bros. as well. That’s particularly interesting, since Barbara Gordon is typically part of theBirds of Preyteam. Maybe this movie will set up theBatgirlsolo movie?
Suicide Squad 2is also still happening, but when may be a bit of a question. It was expected that the sequel would shoot later this year, but it sounds like Margot Robbie is going to first shootBirds of Prey, after completing work on Quentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood. So we may have towait a bit longer to see Deadshotand the gang reunited. Or maybe Robbie will wind up shooting them back-to-back?
The other two Harley Quinn projects,Harley Quinn Vs The JokerandGotham City Sirens, are both still in development, but they don’t seem nearly as close to happening. David Ayer, who directedSuicide Squad, is still attached toGotham City Sirens. There’s no release date set forBirds of Preyjust yet, but with the movie possibly filming before the end of the year, a late 2019 date or early 2020 date seems likely. This news comes to us courtesy ofDeadline.
