D.C to release ‘Birds of Prey’ in 2020
By Carl McDonald
Contributing writer
Those behind the DC Extended Universe are planning to shape the franchise in a big way. The film franchise behind the DC superhero movies, such as “Man of Steel” (2013), “Suicide Squad” (2016), “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016), and more films. However, most of their content hasn’t been able to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), even with success the success of 2017’s “Wonder Woman.”
The DCEU is using anything it can to bounce back and get out of the hole they dug themselves into. In the summer of 2018, it was announced that they would take steps into softly rebooting their films, by introducing the Worlds of DC. After the announcement, Warner Bros. released “Aquaman” in Dec. 2018 and was met with a lot of positive comments. The film grossed more money than “Wonder Woman” and even “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), making over $1 Billion at the Box Office.
With DC headed in the right direction and having fans await new releases, such as “SHAZAM!” (2019), they plan on releasing another team up film. DC are in development with a film titled “Birds of Prey,” which will have Cathy Yan as the director for the film. “Birds of Prey” is a group of female superheroes who come together and fight for justice. In the comics, those who were a part of the stable would be Batgirl/Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and more big names. There was even a series with the same name that ran for one season and had 13 episodes.
Over five months ago, it was announced that this film was in the works and that a lot of new characters would be introduced in the movie and the universe. Margot Robbie will make her return to the DCEU as the starring role of Harley Quinn, who was one of the main roles in “Suicide Squad.” Robbie will be joined by characters making their big screen debuts, such as Huntress played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Black Canary being played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, Chris Messina as serial killer, Victor Zsasz, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Ali Wong in an undisclosed role.
The film’s story will have Harley Quinn leaving The Joker and forming an alliance with Huntress, Black Canary, and Detective Renee Montoya.
The team’s mission is to rescue a young girl named, Cassandra Cain, who in the comics is better known as the vigilante Orphan and even took on the mantle as Batgirl. However, this mission will be a challenge, as they must take on mob boss, Black Mask and his partner, Victor Zsasz. Zsasz is a convicted serial killer, who was responsible for killing over one hundred women.
A teaser was released on January 28th for the movie on Youtube, the 20 second video is titled “See You Soon” and was reuploaded by other channels, such as “Movieclips Trailers.” The teaser starts off with Harley Quinn walking with her iconic mallet, then shows Huntress with her crossbow, then a female drinking a bottle of alcohol, possibly Huntress. We next are shown a girl showing off the cast on her arm, with a several swears on it and one word in huge text, GOTHAM, which is where the movie is taking place. Harley returns with her iconic bat, next we are shown the characters in a fast pace motion. The video ends with Harley having a drink, laughing, and we get “see you soon” on the screen along with a kiss with red lipstick.
The characters mentioned here also have a connection with Batman. Black Mask, Victor Zsasz, and Harley Quinn are all just a few members of the Caped Crusader’s extended rogues gallery. Batman has also worked with Quinn after turning good both in the comics and media Canary was a member of the Justice League and Huntress was a member of the Bat Family, along with Cassandra Cain. Finally, Renee Montoya took on the mantle of The Question in the comics, after the first one died. Montoya was also in a lesbian relationship with Kate Kane, otherwise known as Batwoman.
The film is set to release on February 7th, 2020 and will also have an R-rating, becoming the fourth R-rated superhero flick behind “Deadpool” (2016), “Logan” (2017), and “Deadpool 2” (2018), but the
first for DC.
