With Wonder Woman 1984 having been pushed back, the next DC Extended Universe to follow Shazam! is now Birds of Prey. In the comics, the traditional Birds of Prey lineup consists of Black Canary, Huntress and Batgirl. The first two heroines have already confirmed for the movie, and while it doesn't look Barbara Gordon will be showing up, another Batgirl from the comics will make an appearance, as newcomer Ella Jay Basco is being eyed to play Cassandra Cain.
Rather than being a teenager/young adult like she is in the comics, Birds of Prey's version of Cassandra Cain will be a child, and Variety reports that Ella Jay Basco is in negotiations for the role. This will be Basco's first starring appearance onscreen, having previously guest-starred on TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Superior Donuts and Veep. Cassandra will be protected by Black Canary and Huntress, as well as Harley Quinn, after she finds a diamond belong to Black Mask, one of Gotham City's biggest crime bosses.
Introduced in 1999's Batman #567, which was in the middle of the No Man's Land crossover storyline, Cassandra Cain is the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva. Cassandra was raised by David to become a formidable assassin, and she ultimately became a skilled martial artist able to effectively read body language the cost was Cassandra learning to read, write or speak. After killing her first target, Cassandra felt immense guilt and ran away from her father. Found by Barbara Gordon, who has long been Oracle by this point, Cassandra became one of her field agents.
When Bruce Wayne learned about Cassandra Cain, he took the girl under his wing and trained her to fight after her brain was rewired to think more like a normal person, leading to her becoming the new Batgirl. During Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. run, Cassandra started going by Black Bat. She was reintroduced in the New 52 continuity during the Batman & Robin Eternal series, and while she's never been Batgirl in this version of DC history, she is once again a member of the Bat-Family and goes by the codename Orphan.
Although Cassandra Cain appeared in several video games and made a cameo appearance in the Justice League episode "The Savage Time Part 1," Birds of Prey will basically mark her first major onscreen appearance. Given her age, it's reasonable to assume that she won't be suiting up as Batgirl or any superhero in the movie. However, if Birds of Prey does well enough to launch its own film series, perhaps we could see this Cassandra become a costumed vigilante as she gets older.
Along with Ella Jay Basco being lined up to play Cassandra Cain, Birds of Prey's cast includes Margot Robbie reprising Harley Quinn, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Rosie Perez as Detective Renee Montoya and Ewan McGregor as Black Mask. Cathy Yan is directing and Christina Hodson wrote the script.
Birds of Prey hits theaters on February 7, 2020. As for what else the DCEU has in development, you can find that information in our handy guide.
