As is often the case when a non-white actor or actress is cast as a traditionally white comic book character, there was a lot of backlash from certain fans when Jurnee Smollett was chosen to play Black Canary in Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Smollett ended up doing a great job in the role, even if the character didn't receive quite enough screentime (her powers only really came into play near the end of the movie). Now, the actress has opened up about being cast as the iconic DC Comics movie and the response she had to some of the derogatory remarks made about her online.
"It brought a rage out inside of me, which was great for Canary," she told The Hollywood Reporter, addressing that "controversy" for the first time.
Smollett also explained that she went through four rounds of auditions and over thirty chemistry reads for Birds of Prey, something which led to her "left being like, '[frick] them.'" Co-star Margot Robbie, however, remembers things slightly differently. "We saw hundreds of actors for her role, and so many did incredible auditions, but when you saw Jurnee, it just drove everyone else out of your mind. I drew, like, 10 stars and exclamation marks next to her name."
It remains to be seen what the future holds in store for Smollett's take on Black Canary, but the hope is that she and the other members of the Birds of Prey will get to return to the DCEU at some point.
What do you guys think?
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