DC Films Universe - Batman 80th Anniversary Edition; BIRDS OF PREY

DC Films Universe - Batman 80th Anniversary Edition; BIRDS OF PREY

With Batman’s 80th anniversary on the horizon, I’ve put together a Bat-Centric slate of films set under Warner Bros. DC Films Universe banner. Part II of IV.

Editorial Opinion
By DetectiveCinema - Oct 25, 2017 06:10 PM EST
Filed Under: Fan Fic
 
D   C      C   O   M   I   C   S  '
B I R D S   O F   P R E Y
 
D I R E C T E D   B Y
Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad, The Deuce)
 

 
P L O T   S Y N O P S I S
Barbara Gordon awakens from her comatose state, haunted by the abuse she suffered at the hands of The Joker. With support from those around her she overcomes her trauma and reinvents herself as Oracle, a tech-savvy information broker providing up-to-date and intel through a worldwide communications network.
 
Forming an alliance with Dinah Lance, the vigilante known as Black Canary, the pair operate out of Gotham City’s Clock Tower. However, it’s not long before the two are drawn to the attention of Spyral, a nefarious spy agency founded during the cold war.
 

 
C A S T   O F   C H A R A C T E R S
Dakota Johnson (Black Mass, How to Be Single) … BARBARA GORDON // ORACLE
After being brutally shot by the Joker, Barbara Gordon was rendered paralyzed from the waist down. She reinvents herself as Oracle and partners with Dinah Lance aka Black Canary, forming the Birds of Prey.
 
Lea Seydoux (The LobsterSkyfall) … DINAH LANCE // BLACK CANARY
Dinah Lance was born into a family of crime fighters; her mother was a vigilante and her father a cop. After years of training, she followed in her mother's footsteps by assuming the costume, identity, and legacy of the Black Canary.
 
Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones, Furious 7) … HELENA BERTINELLI // HUNTRESS
Born into a crime family, Helena Bertinelli was thought to be dead after a rival gang murdered her family. However, she survived the attack and joined the spy agency Spyral going by the name Huntress.
 
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Godzilla) … DICK GRAYSON // AGENT 37
The former Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson operated as Batman’s partner and sidekick for years before taking up a new identity and working undercover within the spy agency known as Spyral.
 
Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, Paddington) … NOAH KUTTLER // THE CALCULATOR
The head of Spyral, Noah Kuttler is a cunning manipulator, strategist and highly skilled information broker.
 
Vanessa Redgrave (Lee Daniel’s The Butler, Foxcatcher) … LESLIE THOMPKINS
Leslie Thompkins is a physician in Gotham City. At the behest of her father, Barbara Gordon sees Leslie for counselling.
 
Holt McCallany (Fight Club, Mindhunter) … TED GRANT
Ted Grant is a former world-class boxing champion who trains and mentors Dinah Lance. He owns a gym in Gotham City.
 
Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, Hannibal) … DINAH DRAKE
Dinah Drake was the original Black Canary, a crime-fighter who used her martial arts prowess. She is the mother of Dinah Lance.
 
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, The Accountant) … COMMISSIONER JAMES GORDON
Barbara’s father, James Gordon is the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department. He's one of Batman's greatest allies and a controversial figure because of his willingness to work alongside him.
 

 
 
F U R T H E R   A N A L Y S I S
 
Birds of Prey explores the process of overcoming trauma with our two main characters, Barbara Gordon and Dinah Lance. Following her assault at the hands of The Joker in Batman: Knightfall, Barbara suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. She has recurring nightmares of the event that rendered her a paraplegic. She sees a physician, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who helps her deal with the psychological strain she’s under. However, Barbara spends most of her time in Gotham City’s Clock Tower, devoted to her new persona, Oracle. She reads dozens of the world's top newspapers and magazines daily, while also gathering information from less public data networks such as the CIA, FBI, NSA and Interpol.
 
This leads to her learning about Dinah Lance, a vigilante operating in Gotham City and the second person to take up the Black Canary mantle. Dinah moved to Gotham from Seattle after she got caught attempting to infiltrate a prostitution ring. She manages to break free from her captors but not before being badly beaten. She manages to disband the ring, however the injuries she sustains have lasting consequences. Dinah’s inability to have children causes a rift between her and her partner.
 
She moves to Gotham for a fresh start. Her mother, the original Black Canary, puts her into contact with one of her colleagues from her crimefighting days, Ted Grant. Grant is a former vigilante himself and was a world-class boxing champion in his heyday. Nowadays he runs a gym for Gotham City’s youth. He trains Dinah, helping her to get back on her feet, both physically and mentally.
 
Barbara seeks out Dinah, offering a partnership and the two form the Birds of Prey. The two run covert operations in Gotham City, Black Canary in the field and Oracle providing her with intel back at home base. It’s not long before the two come across Spyral, a nefarious spy agency founded during the cold war which specializes in the mind erosion and brainwashing of it’s agents. The organisation’s leader Noah Kuttler assigns agents Helena Bertinelli and Dick Grayson to eliminate the Birds of Prey to ensure the agency’s true intentions don’t become public knowledge. Grayson is sent after Oracle while Helena tracks down Black Canary.
 
Grayson arrives at the Gotham City Clock Tower and reveals to Barbara that he’s actually a double agent. He was sent to infiltrate Spyral at the behest of his former partner. Skeptical at first, Barbara eventually believes Grayson when he reports to Kuttler that Oracle is taken care of. With Black Canary in danger of being hunted down by Bertinelli, Oracle gets a lock on her last known location and gives it to Grayson.
 
Helena tracks Dinah to the gym where she’s training with Grant. Dinah and Ted have a throw down with Helena. The Spyral agent is clearly the better fighter. She deals Ted a heavy blow rendering him unconscious. The two continue fighting one-on-one with Helena dominating the fight. It seems like it’s all over before Grayson appears. He sides with Canary, revealing to Helena that he’s a double agent and tries to talk her out of a fight however it’s no use. Helena contacts Kuttler, revealing to him that Grayson’s a double-crossed him.
 
With all his other field agents disposed, Kuttler decides to handle Oracle himself. Dinah, Grayson and Helena continue to fight, with the former two gaining the upper hand. They manage to take down Helena, but Grayson is seriously injured in the process. Dinah ties Helena up and takes both Ted and Grayson to Dr. Leslie Thompkins who assesses their injuries. Back at the clock tower, Kuttler confronts Oracle but not before she manages to leak Spyral’s secrets. In a fit of rage, Kuttler attacks Oracle. Even without the use of her legs, Oracle is able to hold Kuttler off long enough for Black Canary to get there.
 
Kuttler is arrested by the G.C.P.D, already calculating his escape before he reaches his jail cell, Helena, however, is nowhere to be seen when the cops arrive at Grant’s gym. Dinah recommends Barbara do some training sessions with Grant once he recovers from the injuries he sustained from Helena. Dick Grayson shows up at Wayne Manor to report his findings to Bruce.
 


F O L L O W S
Batman: Knightfall

 
F O L L O W E D   B Y
Gotham City Sirens
Nightwing



Like, comment and criticise below. Would love to hear your thoughts!
 
Stay tuned, MrMurdock.

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ELAYEM
ELAYEM - 10/25/2017, 7:21 PM
I'm not even a big fan of the Birds of Prey but this is


You sold me on a live-action Birds of Prey for sure.

Great work man, looking forward to the next one!
DetectiveCinema
DetectiveCinema - 10/26/2017, 1:48 AM
@Elayem - Cheers man! Hopefully have the next one up in a week's time, still tossing up whether that'll be Nightwing or Gotham City Sirens though. How long we have to wait for part II of your DC Universe?
ELAYEM
ELAYEM - 10/26/2017, 6:51 AM
@MrMurdock - Hopefully sometime next week
FlixMentallo21
FlixMentallo21 - 10/25/2017, 8:09 PM
I like what you have here, especially the underlying theme of overcoming trauma.
LivingWeapon
LivingWeapon - 10/26/2017, 1:17 AM
For sure, this is my favorite Birds of Prey cast I've ever read. Love the picks for Seydoux, Taylor-Johnson, and McCallany the most.
DetectiveCinema
DetectiveCinema - 10/26/2017, 1:59 AM
@LivingWeapon - Thank you! Glad you like it that much. I almost went with Thomas Hayden-Church for Ted Grant but after binging Mindhunter I decided to go with McCallany at the last minute.
LivingWeapon
LivingWeapon - 10/30/2017, 11:52 PM
@MrMurdock - Thomas would have also been a great pick, even with his track record with CBMs. He'd certainly be more entertaining to watch in a fight than McCallany.
SimplyAz
SimplyAz - 10/26/2017, 6:32 AM
Nice fancast. Each pick matches the character they were chosen for.
Nice plot as well and well done once again.
MikeZ
MikeZ - 10/26/2017, 7:13 PM
- Again, still not sold on Dakota Johnson as an actress. Maybe get her nice and chiseled, have her take police training, and study in computer science first. And maybe have her watch some dark, high-class psychodramas.
- How about Eliza Taylor as Black Canary?



- Really not a big fan of the girl from GOT with the nose ring.
- Decent Nightwing choice. I don't have any problems with Aaron.
- Wowee! Nice original and unique choice for the Calculator!
- I can roll with your Wildcat choice! My choice would be Jason Beghe from Chicago P.D.. He really has that world-weary vibe fit for the character.
- Ain't a damn problem with Gillain Anderson!

Great cast, as usual. Can't wait for Gotham City Sirens!
DetectiveCinema
DetectiveCinema - 10/28/2017, 3:22 PM
@MikeZ - I think Dakota has what it takes to do the role justice. I'm confident in her acting ability but you're definitely right about doing thorough research for the role, absolute must.

I haven't heard or seen any of Taylor's work so I can't comment but she definitely looks the part.

I almost went with Tessa Thompson for Helena but tried to steer clear of MCU actors where I could. I think Emmanuel could give a great take on the character.

I haven't seen any of Beghe's work but just looking at the guy is enough to sell me, as if the character itself jumped off the page.

You may have to wait a little longer for Gotham City Sirens. I'm refactoring a few things and there's a decent chance my Nightwing pitch will come next chronologically.
MikeZ
MikeZ - 10/29/2017, 1:12 PM
@MrMurdock - Eliza Taylor plays Clarke Griffin in The 100. A must watch show!

Speaking of The 100, my choice for the Huntress is Marie Avgeropoulos.

Jason Beghe stars in Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire. And he'll also be playing a boxer in the animated film Dawgtown, which I forgot to mention!

I think I can wait patiently for Gotham City Siren.
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