Margot Robbie has more DC movie projects in the works than it's possible to keep track of and there's been little information about when any of them will actually arrive. However, the DC movie picture has now become ever so slightly clearer as Margot Robbie has officially confirmed that Birds of Prey is set to go into production in January.
Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was far and away the biggest star coming out of the Suicide Squad movie and following that numerous projects were rumored or announced that would star the character. Along with Birds of Prey, there was also a Gotham City Sirens film announced as well as a film focusing on the Joker and Harley. Robbie herself has also talked about another project which, while she's given little detail, appears to be yet another project that would include her character. Most of these projects have writers and/or directors attached, so they seem to be real, but when any of them would begin shooting, nevermind get released, was anybody's guess.
Now, thanks to Margot Robbie's confirmation to Flickering Myth, some of the guesswork is gone. Robbie's statement of a January start to production confirms an earlier rumor that Birds of Prey would start shooting in the first month of 2019. The film is still without a release date, but based on the usual production cycle of superhero movies, a date in the spring of 2020 seems likely, making Birds of Prey the next DC movie to be released following Wonder Woman 1984.
Currently, in addition to those two movies, DC is set to release Aquaman in December and Shazam in April of 2019. If Birds of Prey is eyeing a similar release date to Shazam, it could mean DC is looking to carve out a regular schedule of opening two movies a year, one in the spring and another at the end of the year.
In addition to the start of shooting dates, Margot Robbie also confirmed some other information about Birds of Prey, the fact that it is expecting to be rated-R, and that the film will have a much smaller budget compared to previous DC movies.
One thing that she did not confirm is exactly what other characters will be in the film. Traditionally, Birds of Prey includes the likes of Batgirl/Oracle, Huntress, and Black Canary, and while some of those names have been rumored, none beyond Harley Quinn have been confirmed. One thing all those characters do have in common, however, is a lack of superpowers. If nobody in the movie will have any sort of supernatural abilities, it could help explain how the film will be able to get by with a much smaller budget.
If a production date is set then expect some of those big questions, like the rest of the film's casting, to be answered shortly as the film gets ready to go in front of a camera. With San Diego Comic-Con on the horizon, we could very possibly get some answers then.
