Published Date: 06/12/2019

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

After splitting with the Joker, Harley Quinn joins superheroes Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.

A twisted tale told by Harley Quinn herself, when Gotham's most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya's paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.

We are very, very excited that Margot Robbie is to return as the beautiful and affable - don’t be fooled in dropping your guard it could lose you your life! - and deranged and psychotic scene stealer Harley Quinn.

So what do we know? The Oscar nominated Robbie is not only starring but also along as a producer and recently had this to say to Variety about Harley Quinn:

“The story in Birds of Prey is told from her point of view, so you have an insight into Harley’s world in a way that you didn’t in the first Suicide Squad film, nor that you’ll have in the next Suicide Squad film. It’s a little bonkers. It reflects her personality. It’s heightened. It’s poppy, it’s fun, it’s violent, it’s crazy. It’s absurd. It’s kooky. It’s hilarious. It’s a little heart-breaking.”

Director Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs 2018) was recently asked how she snared the gig to helm Birds of Prey and her immediate response was that she “did her homework.”

Key to Yan was the script from Christina Hodson, who won acclaim for her screenplay for Bumblebee (2018). “I immediately loved the script and it felt like something I could really do, and it felt very much like my own voice.

I could not put the script down, it had so much dark humour to it which a lot of my work does, and there are themes of female empowerment which are so strong and relatable. So I went in with, not with confidence, but at least a sense that I belonged in the room, that somehow magically in terms of timing and luck that this opportunity was open to me and I was definitely going to make the best of it.”  

Margot Robbie’s Hayley Quinn may take centre stage in Birds of Prey (2020) but she is ably supported by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz and as the film’s super-villain Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis. Newcomer Ella Jay Basco also stars as Cassandra Cain in her feature film debut.  

More news on Birds of Prey as we get it!  

Birds of Prey opens at Showcase Cinema February 7, 2020