Suicide Squad wasn't a critical hit but it did find success at the box office, so it's really no great surprise that Warner Bros. wanted to move forward with the David Ayer-helmed
Gotham City Sirens. Well, that didn't happen, and it's thought to be because Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie decided to push for
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) instead.
Based on past interviews, the idea of a "girl gang" movie was more appealing to the actress, as was being able to get a female filmmaker at the helm of this DC Comics adaptation.
Now, Robbie has explained in detail why
Birds of Prey was a bigger priority than
Gotham City Sirens:
"Whilst I was researching the character I started to read Birds of Prey and first I fell in love with Huntress, and I started looking into all of that. I was like, ‘Wow, there’s so many cool female DC characters and no one knows anything about any of them!’ So what if we had a platform for fans to get to know and fall in love with some of these other amazing women? Focusing on the Gotham City Sirens, there were only three of us and we were all well known, whereas with Birds of Prey you can pick any grouping for that, and I thought that might be the perfect platform to introduce some female characters who might really have some legs in the DC Universe."
It's clear that there's demand among fans for
Gotham City Sirens to happen, but given the complicated nature of the DC Extended Universe now Warner Bros. is moving away from the idea of a true "shared" world, it's hard to say whether
The Batman star Zoe Kravitz would play Catwoman in that.
Robbie clearly wants her Harley Quinn to cross paths with Poison Ivy, though, so here's hoping the project returns in some form - providing
Birds of Prey ends up being a box office success.
What do you guys think about these comments?
Hit the "View List" button to check out a breakdown and
some hi-res screenshots from the new Birds of Prey trailer!
Margot Robbie is back as Harley Quinn after debuting in
Suicide Squad, and it's clear that she'll be rocking more than just a skimpy outfit during this adventure.
Harley attacking a police station may seem like a villainous move on her part but she's using non-lethal ammo so it definitely looks like she's going to be portrayed as an anti-hero moving forward.
That makes sense based on the way Harley has been portrayed in the comics in recent years and it will be interesting seeing what impact, if any, it has on James Gunn's
The Suicide Squad.
A post-credits scene with
Birds of Prey setting the stage for Task Force X to return to the DCEU is surely a given, especially as the movie has been shooting for quite some time now.
We still don't know how Harley and the rest of the original cast will factor into that adventure but it likely means that this movie ends with the fan-favourite character behind bars.
As for what Harley might be up to here, it's hard to say but perhaps she's attempting to steal evidence which can be used against the man trying to kill her? (more on him later)
What we do know is that Harley and The Joker are no longer an item and Margot Robbie recently confirmed that Jared Leto won't be returning as the Clown Prince of Crime in
Birds of Prey.
That is indeed Ace Chemicals she's driving a truck into and it's hard not to wonder whether Mr. J is inside as Warner Bros. could choose to kill off the villain here to explain where he's vanished to.
After all, Leto hasn't shied away from voicing his displeasure with how his Joker was used in
Suicide Squad and insiders have since claimed that he was left fuming over
Joker being made.
Regardless of his future as that iconic Batman villain, Harley is clearly ready to cut all ties and that includes blowing up the place she left behind her Dr. Harleen Quinzel persona.
It's been said that
Birds of Prey isn't really a sequel to
Suicide Squad but with these references to The Joker, it's not exactly like this is a reboot...chances are that movie's ending won't be addressed, though.
Visually,
Birds of Prey looks like a very colourful movie and a far cry from the darker, often quite grimey tones which dominated the first wave of movies in the DCEU.
Harley certainly seems happy with her newfound freedom and time will tell whether her breakup with Mr. J (which was filmed with a stand-in) will make it into the final cut of the film.
Yet another costume for Harley, Warner Bros. is jumping on the merchandising opportunities here (which they declined to do for Joker) despite
Birds of Prey being R-Rated.
Poor Harley isn't doing well following her breakup and it appears as if we're going to follow her as she rebounds from this, albeit with some
Deadpool-style fourth wall breaks in the process.
What's the deal with that beaver in the background? Well, in the comics, Harley has a taxidermied beaver - called Bernie - who serves as a kind of sidekick of sorts during her adventures.
This is our first glimpse at Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Huntress in the trailer and it definitely appears as if we can expect her to be the team's biggest badass (even moreso than Black Canary).
What brings Harley and the young Cassandra Cain together? Well, it sounds like Roman Sionis is after both of them and Quinn takes the character better known as Batgirl in the comics under her wing.
That is Victor Zsasz, a classic Batman villain who carves a marking into his body for every person he kills. Unless his arms and torso are covered, he may not have many kills at this stage in his career.
There it is! We weren't expecting to see Roman don a comic book accurate version of his mask in the movie based on past rumours but he really wouldn't have been Black Mask without it.
There doesn't seem to be any love lost between Harley and The Joker, hence why she's using a drawing of him for target practice. Warner Bros. actually toned down their abusive relationship in
Suicide Squad.
Ewan McGregor appears to be having a lot of fun here as this classic villain but the trailer doesn't reveal much about him beyond the fact he seems to have a rather eccentric fashion sense.
Harley reveals that Black Mask wants to kill her but is it because she and The Joker wronged him in the past (he's clearly a gangster) or might he want to make her his own?
Many fans expected Harley Quinn to receive a complete makeover after Suicide Squad but the tattoon remain (at least there's nothing as awkward as The Joker's "Damaged" tat).
Something we likely won't see is Harley's comic book costume but we did get a glimpse of that in
Suicide Squad so there's not really any need for it to make its return here.
Could this be another example of Harley breaking the fourth wall? It wouldn't be the worst idea Warner Bros. has had to create their own version of Deadpool for the DC Extended Universe.
Is that a big pile of drugs next to Harley? It would make sense for Black Mask to have a massive drugs empire and that R-Rating allows Cathy Yan to explore things that a PG-13 release can't.
Yet another costume for the title character, Warner Bros. has certainly given Harley Quinn cosplayers plenty of different options ahead of this year's San Diego Comic-Con!
Another advantage that comes with an R-Rating is the fact that things will get a whole lot more violent and we see an example of that here as Harley brutally takes down these three goons.
Harley and Cassandra seem to be having a lot of fun together but isn't it a little risky for someone as notorious as Harley Quinn to just be wandering around Gotham City?
This definitely looks like a fantasy sequence of some sort and, believe it or not, it's been claimed that Ewan McGregor could have worn a mask not all that different to what we see above.
The Birds of Prey assemble here and they look like a formidable group! Leading the charge is Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, a character better known in the comics as The Question.
Could this be what leads to Cassandra Cain being targeted by Black Mask and his crew? She appears to be just a normal kid but picking Victor Zsasz's pocket might be the dumbest thing she's ever done.
Rumour has it that in an earlier version of Birds of Prey, that diamond actually had Black Mask's d*ck pics stored on it. Now, though, it's thought that it just contains incriminating evidence against him.
He's certainly a pretty flamboyant character and it was once claimed that he's gay. Whether that's true and something that has made it into this version of the film is hard to say.
Margot Robbie recently said that she didn't understand why Harley would ever fall for The Joker, so the chances of their romance ever being touched on again in the DCEU seem extremly slim.
We've seen a lot of Black Canary on the small screen in recent years thanks to
Arrow but it's going to be awesome seeing what Jurnee Smollett-Bell ends up bringing to the role.
A recent TV spot for
Birds of Prey showed Huntress wearing a comic accurate version of her mask so she's one character we can expect to see suited up at some point in the film.
This version of the character won't be the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (well, not as far as we know anyway) as Winstead is going to be playing Helena Bertinelli.
Harley mentions that the fact Huntress killed Black Mask's "BFF" is what led to the villain targeting her and that likely came as a result of her crusade against criminals.
It seems like Huntress will be a reluctant member of this group but she's someone the rest of the team definitely admires. Making its return here is Harley's iconic mallet too.
Harley Quinn is closely associated with the Roller Derby in the comics and it actually looks like that's something we'll see a lot of throughout
Birds of Prey.
Black Canary is shown wielding a gun here but does she really need one when she can unleash that sonic scream of hers? Well, it certainly won't hurt in the fight the team have ahead of them!
It looks like at least some of the film will take place in this funfair and chances are that this is somewhere Harley has a fair bit of history with after her time with The Joker.
We see here that Renee Montoya has been keeping track of Black Mask's operations and that's clearly Cassandra Cain on the phone she's taken into evidence (likely from someone who has been tasked with killing her after stealing from him).
Is the Gotham City Police Detective clearing out her desk? Quite possibly and it doesn't seem she gets much in the way of respect from her male colleagues as she attempts to build a case against Black Mask.
Speaking of that villain, what an aweome piece of imagery this is!
There may or may not be a good reason for the villain's henchmen wearing masks but it certainly helps them stand out from the crowd (even if they do look a little silly).
Back to that funfair setting, how much do you want to bet that this is actually Amusement Mile? The Joker frequently used that as a hideout so Harley making her last stand here makes sense.
Something we don't see in the trailer, of course, is Batman! In fact, there's not really any sort of reference to the Caped Crusader at all here and that leaves us with a lot of questions.
It's not as if a war between Harley Quinn and Black Mask would escape his attention so he's either missing, dead, or working elsewhere in the world on behalf of the Justice League.
With Ben Affleck not set to reprise the role of the Caped Crusader, however, it would be silly for Warner Bros. to leave the door open to Batman making his presence felt down the line...unless the plan is for Robert Pattinson to replace him!
Batman going missing has happened before and as there's no Bat Family to back him up in this universe (not that we know of anyway), perhaps Gotham City has descended into madness in his absence?
J.K. Simmons also isn't slated to appear as Commissioner Jim Gordon so he's either not getting a mention here or his absence will also be explained away by the movie somehow.
That mask looks like it's been pilled straight out of the comic books and unlike in the source material, he doesn't look like a slightly different version of Marvel's Red Skull!
There's no sign of Batgirl in
Birds of Prey, a character fans consider an essential part of the team. However, it's definitely feasible that Cassandra could take on that moniker by the end of the film instead of Barabara Gordon.
Not everyone will be happy with that, of course, and it's hard to say why Cassandra would take on that mantle unless she wants to try and fill the void that's been left by Batman.
If you're impressed by the action in this trailer, then you can thank
John Wick director Chad Stahelski as he was tasked to take the helm of second unit reshoots by Cathy Yan and Warner Bros.
We don't know if an earlier cut was lacking in that department but it certainly won't be now and what we see here definitely looks like an improvement over what was in the teaser trailer.
Yes, Harley Quinn appears to be gunning down some cops here but she's once again doing so with non-lethal means so she must have turned over a new leaf to at least an extent.
With
Gotham City Sirens on hold, it's going to be up to a possible
Birds of Prey sequel to introduce Poison Ivy as Harley's love interest but we don't know if the plan is for this to be a franchise yet.
If we do get a sequel, there's nothing to say Harley will be involved as she's making the leap to
The Suicide Squad next and will likely get a solo outing shortly after.
This version of Black Canary is a singer who is working for Black Mask but probably not because she wants to. Harley does mention earlier in the trailer that she's "betrayed" him somehow.
Renee Montoya could definitely become a version of The Question in the DCEU but it's hard to say how that could happen given how little we know about her role in
Birds of Prey.
Ella Jay Basco may end up delivering a breakout performance as Cassandra Cain but one big change that's been made from the comics is that she's not a mute in this movie.
Huntress, meanwhile, does seem to have a lot in common with her comic book counterpart. Did you know that McGregor and Winstead are in a relationship in real-life?
Harley's love of dancing hasn't gone anywhere but things aren't quite as raunchy as they were in
Suicide Squad because this movie looks set to move away from the male gaze.
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
Yes, it does look a little like the Demon Bear is concealed within a cloud here so we now just have to hope that this isn't another classic bad guy the studio is hiding within, well, mist!
We've seen three different versions of Black Canary on the small screen over the past few years and their powers are portrayed pretty similarly to what we see from this take on the hero.
There's no clear indication that this Black Canary has any links to Green Arrow - or that Oliver Queen even exists in the DCEU - but an Easter Egg pointing to that would definitely be appreciated.
She doesn't need backup from Green Arrow, though, because her powers are undeniably impressive as she managed to take down an entire crew of Black Mask's men with a single blast.
Black Canary will be the only member of the team with powers but Harley certainly doesn't appear to be struggling without them as she shows off her impressive fighting abilities.
Of course, when they let you down, just set a dude's beard on fire! We're not entirely sure it would go up in flames that fast, though, unless it's seriously dry!
Black Mask has seemingly caught Harley at this point as that's her in the chair in front of him. His men aren't taking any risks as they all have their guns pointed at The Joker's former flame.
Thanks to the aforementioned R-Rating, Warner Bros. will be able to up the ante in terms of violence and while this trailer is light on blood, we can likely expect plenty of it in the film itself.
That seems appropriate in Gotham City but will this supposed team of heroes actually be killers? It certainly doesn't look like Black Canary is holding back during this sequence.
Is it possible that these two are more than friends? Sure, Black Mask only has his arm around his employee but it would certainly add an interesting new wrinkle to both villains.
We know that Cassandra Cain steals diamonds from Black Mask and Harley seems to be rocking a lot of them here. What if the movie ends with her making off with the villain's haul?
Even if that is the case, we know Harley somehow winds up back in Amanda Waller's custody because, as we mentioned earlier in this post, she'll return in
The Suicide Squad in 2021.
Harley Quinn had two hyenas in
Batman: The Animated Series - Bud and Lou - but there's only one here and, well, even that is something fans of the show are bound to appreciate!
Rather than being called "Bud" or "Lou," though, Harley has instead named him "Bruce" after Bruce Wayne (who she definitely doesn't appear to know is also Batman).
What do you guys think of these screenshots from Birds of Prey? Did you notice anything in the trailer that we missed? As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.