Birds of Prey (2020 film)

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics team Birds of Prey. It is intended to be the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by Cathy Yan from a screenplay by Christina Hodson, and stars Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, and Ewan McGregor. Birds of Prey follows Harley Quinn as she joins forces with Black Canary, the Huntress, and Renee Montoya to save Cassandra Cain from Gotham City crime lord Black Mask.

Robbie, who also serves as producer, pitched the idea for Birds of Prey to Warner Bros. in 2015. The film was announced in May 2016; Hodson was hired to write the script that November, while Yan signed on to direct in April 2018. The majority of the cast and crew were confirmed by December 2018. Principal photography lasted from January to April 2019 and took place in Downtown Los Angeles, parts of the Arts District, Los Angeles and soundstages at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California. Birds of Prey is expected to be the first theatrically released R-rated DCEU film.

Birds of Prey is scheduled to be released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 7, 2020.

Premise
Since the events of Suicide Squad, Batman has disappeared, leaving Gotham City unprotected from crime, and Harley Quinn has left the Joker. When Cassandra Cain, a young girl, comes across a diamond belonging to crime lord Black Mask, Harley joins forces with Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya to help protect her.

Cast

 * Margot Robbie as Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn:
 * Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary
 * Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli / Huntress: A vigilante, and the daughter of mafia syndicate gangster Franco Bertinelli.
 * Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain: A young girl who is threatened by Black Mask.
 * Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya
 * Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis / Black Mask: A Gotham City crime lord who threatens Cain.
 * Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz: A Gotham City criminal.

Charlene Amoia portrays Maria Bertinelli, the mother of Helena and the wife of Franco. Talon Reid portrays one of Black Mask's henchmen. Steven Williams, Derek Wilson, Dana Lee, François Chau, Matthew Willig, and Ali Wong have been cast in undisclosed roles. Additionally, the Joker appears in the film. Jared Leto was originally stated to reprise his role from Suicide Squad, but could not due to scheduling conflicts with Morbius (2020), so a stand-in actor filled in on set. Leto said he may film a scene during post-production.

Development
In May 2016, ahead of the release of Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. announced a spinoff film focusing on Harley Quinn and several other female DC Comics heroes and villains, such as Batgirl and the Birds of Prey. Margot Robbie was attached to reprise her role as Harley Quinn, and would also serve as producer. British screenwriter Christina Hodson was announced to be writing the film in November. Robbie pitched the film to Warner Bros. in 2015 as "an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, 'Harley needs friends.' Harley loves interacting with people, so don’t ever make her do a standalone film". Robbie felt it was important for the film to have a female director. While Warner Bros. and DC Films had various other Harley Quinn-oriented films in development, Birds of Prey was the only one in which Robbie was directly involved with its development.

Robbie spent three years working on Birds of Prey and continued to present it to Warner Bros. until the studio felt the project was at the point it could be made. By April 2018, Warner Bros. and DC Films had finalized a deal with Cathy Yan to direct, making her the first female Asian director to direct a superhero film. Additionally, Robbie was confirmed to be producing the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment banner, as part of a first look deal she has with the studio; Sue Kroll and Bryan Unkless were also announced to serve as producers through their companies Kroll & Co. Entertainment and Clubhouse Pictures, respectively. Production was scheduled to begin by late 2018 or early 2019. The Penguin was intended to appear in the script at one point, but was dropped to preserve his debut in a Batman solo film.

Pre-production
By July 2018, the film was entering pre-production. Robbie confirmed the film would be titled Birds of Prey, describing it as "different" from the other DC films featuring Harley Quinn, and said it would be produced on a relatively small budget compared to other superhero films. She also stated that Harley Quinn would receive a new costume, and teased the casting of diverse actors. The line-up for the Birds of Prey team was revealed to include Black Canary, Huntress, Cassandra Cain, and Renee Montoya, with the villain set to be a Batman adversary who had not yet been seen in film. Casting began in August, with Warner Bros. considering a number of actresses to be cast as Huntress and Black Canary. Alexandra Daddario, Jodie Comer, Blake Lively, and Vanessa Kirby expressed interest. Additionally, Roman Sionis / Black Mask was revealed to be the film's antagonist. Janelle Monáe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jurnee Smollett-Bell were under consideration for Black Canary by September, while Sofia Boutella, Margaret Qualley, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Cristin Milioti were being considered to play Huntress. Justina Machado and Roberta Colindrez tested for Renee Montoya, while Warner Bros. began seeking a 12-year-old Asian actress to play Cassandra Cain.

In late September, Smollett-Bell and Winstead were respectively cast as Black Canary and Huntress, Warner Bros. scheduled a February 7, 2020 release date, and Ewan McGregor and Sharlto Copley were under consideration for the role of Black Mask. During the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit in October, Yan confirmed the cast and that the film would be R-rated. She said that she "could not put the script down, it had so much dark humor to it which a lot of my work does, and there are themes of female empowerment which are so strong and relateable". Cinematographer Matthew Libatique joined the film that month, as did Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya. Stunt coordinator Jonathan Eusebio and fight coordinator Jon Valera joined in November along with McGregor as Black Mask and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain. Additionally, Robbie revealed that the full title would be Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), and that the subtitle reflects the humorous and unserious tone of the film. Production designer K. K. Barrett joined in December, as did Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz. Steven Williams, Derek Wilson, Dana Lee, François Chau, Matthew Willig and Ali Wong also joined the film's cast.

Filming
Principal photography began in Los Angeles, California in January 2019 under the working title Fox Force Five. Although filming was expected to also take place in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, the entire shoot took place in Los Angeles after the production received a tax credit from the state of California. Filming was expected to be completed by mid-April 2019. In February, Charlene Amoia joined the cast. Filming wrapped on April 15, 2019.

Post-production
Method Studios will provide the visual effects for the film.

Release
Birds of Prey is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on February 7, 2020.

Marketing
DC Comics plans to publish a promotional trade paperback anthology featuring stories based on the film on November 12, 2019.

Future
Birds of Prey is expected to be the first in a trilogy of films focusing on Harley Quinn, with the second believed to be based on the Gotham City Sirens team.