Can you hear Black Canary's cries faintly in the distance? Well, it's one of victory -- she and her new badass girl gang have assembled for the DCEU's upcoming Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), which has just started filming, right on schedule.
One of the film's stars, Ella Jay Basco, recently confirmed that principal photography has begun for Birds of Prey on her Twitter account, as reported by Screen Rant, though her original tweet has since been deleted.
Oops! Maybe she wasn't supposed to share? The actress portraying Cassandra Cain (a.k.a. Batgirl in the comics) is a newcomer to the world of hush-hush movie projects. In fact, Birds of Prey will be her debut on the big screen following a few guest appearances on TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy and Veep.
The news isn't catching us off guard though. Birds of Prey was expected to begin production in mid-January and here we are smack dab in the middle of January! It's nice to know everything is going according to plan for the Warner Bros. comic book film.
Birds of Prey will see Margot Robbie reprise her role as Harley Quinn, but she seems to be ditching her puddin' for a few femme fatales, including Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell). The upcoming film will also feature Rosie Perez as Detective Montoya and Ewan McGregor as the main baddie, a pesky crime boss known as Black Mask.
While an official synopsis for Birds of Prey hasn't been announced yet, it may be about Harley's formation of a team including Huntress and Black Canary to protect young Cassandra Cain after she comes across a diamond belonging to Black Mask. Mindy Project actor Chris Messina has also been cast as the self-mutilating serial killer Victor Zsasz in Birds of Prey as a secondary villain.
Margot Robbie says Birds of Prey isn't a "very serious movie" -- hence the long and slightly ridiculous title, though it is reportedly aiming for an R-rating. The film, which was written by Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson and is directed by Cathy Yan, will likely follow in the footsteps of Deadpool's raunchy-humored success, but with a female-led cast at its center.
In comparison to other DCEU planned titles, Birds of Prey has seen a smooth development process and been fast-tracked to be among the many exciting releases for the comic book universe. The movie is actually set to be released before Wonder Woman 1984, which wrapped filming last month.
Birds of Prey is supposed to wrap in mid-April and come to theaters on February 7, 2020, and Wonder Woman 1984 will follow when it hits theaters on June 5, 2020. This year is also set to be a successful year for the DCEU with Shazam! coming April 5. The standalone Joker also comes out on October 4.
