Harley Quinn’s Birds Of Prey Spin-Off Movie Just Made History
April 18, 2018Margot Robbie is assembling a fierce girl gang over at Warner Bros. and DC.
Deadline reports that Cathy Yan is in negotiations to direct Robbie's previously announced untitled Harley Quinn spin-off based on Birds of Prey. If the deal goes through, Yan will be the first Asian woman to direct a superhero flick. The news comes just weeks after Warner Bros. and DC tapped director Ava DuVernay to adapt The New Gods. Last year, Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman raked in a historic haul at the box office.
Yan will team up with screenwriter Christina Hodson — who was recently hired to revive Joss Whedon's abandoned Batgirl project — and Robbie will produce the film via her LuckyChap Entertainment production company. According to Deadline, it was Robbie who pushed for a female director. In addition to all the badass women behind the camera, the source material for Birds of Prey features some of DC Comics' most legendary female heroes, namely Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Black Canary, and Huntress.
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey
While it's unknown if those specific characters made it into Yan's initial treatment, with Hodson working on the Batgirl script, it makes sense that Babs would make her debut in Birds of Prey first, which is looking to start production at the end of the year.
This is an historic move for Warner Bros. and DC — and a definitive win over Marvel Studios. DC isn't just investing in its female superheroes, but they're investing in female creators to tell their stories, and that's crucial for getting more women in front of and behind the camera.
As for Robbie, there are still several other Harley Quinn-centric projects in the works over at Warner Bros., including David Ayer's Gotham City Sirens and an "insane and twisted" Joker and Harley flick.