This week has been an interesting one when it comes to news for Birds of Prey, the upcoming Harley Quinn team-up movie. The film is reportedly gearing up for production to start in early 2019 and while there’s been no casting information as of yet, star Margot Robbie has revealed that the cast for the film will be diverse.
Robbie recently told Yahoo! that when it comes to filling out the cast of Birds of Prey, she wants the character makeup of the film to be truer to life.
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“Yep, yes exactly, real life isn’t so one specific image,” Robbie said. “We’ve got to reflect that onscreen.”
With Cathy Yan reportedly set to direct the film, the film is already set to stand out from other DC Film offerings as it will be the first to be directed by a non-white female director but bringing on a diverse cast for the “R-rated girl gang film” will take that to the next level. The only real question is which characters will the diverse cast play and, given the team’s comic book history, there are a lot of options to choose from.
In the DC Comics Universe, the Birds of Prey are an all-female hero group founded by Batgirl (Barbara Gordon using the codename Oracle at the time), Black Canary, and Huntress. Since that original iteration, there have been many others who have cycled on and off the team and it hasn’t always been heroes, either. Jade Canary, perhaps better known as Lady Shiva, notably took Dinah Lance/Black Canary’s place on the team during “One Year Later”.
So which heroes are being considered for Birds of Prey? Here are some of the characters reportedly being considered.
Batgirl/Oracle (Barbara Gordon)
One of the founding members of Birds of Prey in comics, Barbara Gordon would be a natural choice. In comics, Barbara is operating as Oracle having been paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by the Joker which could present an opportunity for diverse casting in Birds of Prey should a wheelchair-bound Oracle make up part of the team. Even if they opt for a non-paralyzed Batgirl for Birds of Prey, the character would still make for a sound choice. Christina Hodson, who is writing Birds of Prey, is also set to write the Batgirl solo film currently in development.
Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
Another founding member of the team in comics, Dinah Lance fights crime as a martial arts expert-slash-vigilante who uses her ultrasonic ear-splitting vocal cry to incapacitate her enemies. A popular character in comics, Black Canary is frequently linked to the Green Arrow and has ties to the Justice League of America. There have also already been rumors that Dinah Lance is set to be included in the lineup for Birds of Prey along with Batgirl and Huntress.
Huntress (Helena Bertinelli)
Born into one of Gotham City’s mafia families, Helena became a vigilante after having witnessed the murder of her family as a child. More violent and reckless than some of the other heroes, Huntress would make for an interesting addition to the team.
Catwoman (Selina Kyle)
Catwoman would also make a fun, compelling addition to the film. More of an antihero than a villain, the Gotham City burglar is often portrayed as doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. It makes her complex character that would be right at home in the team-up, especially as she’s partnered up with Harley Quinn
Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders)
While Hawkgirl’s comics history has been complicated to say the least, Earth 2’s Hawkgirl from The New 52 is also said to be a possible choice for Birds of Prey. With her crossbow and pistols — not to mention the wings — she could make for a formidable addition to the girl gang.
Power Girl (Karen Starr)
In comics, Power Girl is one of Oracle’s first agents for Birds of Prey, but their partnership goes awry very quickly when a mission goes sideways, resulting in a large loss of life. Power Girl blames Oracle for it, a situation that creates some tension and animosity between the two. It could make for an interesting dynamic in the Birds of Prey film.
Poison Ivy (Dr. Pamela Isley)
Poison Ivy would make an interesting addition to the movie not only because she has teamed up with Catwoman and Harley Quinn in comics and is sometimes depicted as an antihero rather than just a villain but because she’s also been a love interest for Harley in comics as well. Her history as an eco-terrorist could also make for some interesting plot choices as well.
Vixen (Mari McCabe)
Given her history with both Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad in comics, Vixen is another character that would make sense to have appear in Birds of Prey. While there have been no details about the film’s plot, given Vixen’s connections she could explain how Harley connects to some the other characters on this list. She’s also just an interesting character and, as fans of television’s Legends of Tomorrow can attest to, her totem-based powers look pretty cool onscreen.
Who would you like to appear in Birds of Prey? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Birds of Prey currently does not have a release date, nor do any of the other films set to feature Harley Quinn. Other upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam! on April 5, 2019, Wonder Woman 1984 on November 1, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020.
