It is no secret that DC and Warner Bros. have been spending the last several months trying to forge a new path for the franchise, and one thing that has been clear since 2016's Suicide Squad, is that the studio is all-in on Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. Margot Robbie's character was a breakout presence in that film and her name has been attached to multiple possible projects in the time since. Now one of what many imagine will be several movies featuring Harley Quinn is finally moving forward. DC and Warner Bros. are looking to hire director Cathy Yan to helm the Birds of Prey movie.
Cathy Yan is an unlikely candidate but an interesting one. The deal is not yet final, but Cathy Yan is expected to get the job, making her the second female filmmaker to helm a flick in the DCEU, while Marvel is still working on its first. She also will become the first Asian female to ever direct a superhero film. The last time Warner Bros. hired a female director, in addition to public goodwill, the studio benefitted with its most successful domestic film to date, the critic and fan-favorite movie, Wonder Woman. However, Patty Jenkins was a seasoned director. Cathy Yan has just one movie to her name, the indie film, Dead Pigs, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Award for Ensemble Acting at Sundance this year.
According to Deadline, Cathy Yan beat out many well-established male directors to land the gig. Apparently, she gave an excellent presentation for Birds of Prey and the fact that Margot Robbie insisted that this film have a female director probably helped, too. The script is for the Birds of Prey movie is also written by a woman, Christina Hodson, who was just hired to write the Batgirl movie.
This could be an exciting directorial choice because it shows that Warner Bros. is willing to take a chance on new talent if that person has the right vision to the project. Marvel has had success taking directors from television like the Russo brothers and smaller films like Taika Waititi and allowing them to deliver huge hits for the studio. If Cathy Yan had the best pitch for this movie then I'm glad to see she is getting the shot. It is also encouraging that Christina Hodson wrote the script for this film. Since she has been hired for Batgirl, WB must have liked what she did with Birds of Prey.
The girl gang movie doesn't yet have an official title, but it is based on Birds of Prey comics that team some of the DC Bat-verse's female heroes into a crime-fighting unit. The team includes Black Canary, Batgirl and Huntress. It isn't entirely clear if Harley Quinn will be teaming up with this group as they are traditionally foes in the comics. Harley Quinn usually belongs to the Gotham City Sirens along with Catwoman and Poison Ivy, which is another DC film in some stage of development with Suicide Squad director, David Ayer.
The Birds of Prey movie will probably start shooting late this year or early next year once Margot Robbie is finished work on Quentin Tarantino's ninth film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in which she will probably play Sharon Tate. Check out our guide to see all of the Upcoming DC Movies and for all the latest on the Harley Quinn-verse, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
