It’s been over two years since Suicide Squad hit UK screens, and while it wasn’t particularly well received, the DC villain team-up raked in a shedload of cash at the box office. It’s surprising, then, that progress has been slow on any kind of follow-up – until now, with news of a much-mooted Harley Quinn spin-off firming up into something more solid. Margot Robbie is set to don the pig-tails and squeaky accent once again in Birds Of Prey, a film which will see her assemble her own crew of female heroes to take down a crime boss.
Warner Bros and DC have set a release date for Birds Of Prey that will see the film arrive on 7 February 2020 – a similar release to the shifted Bond 25 date. Reports claim that it will shoot in early 2019, with the likes of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Margaret Qualley, Jurnee Smolett-Bell, and Cristin Milioti said to be screen-testing for roles. Cathy Yan has been lined up as director, marking her second feature following the release of comedy-drama Dead Pigs in the US earlier this year.
While Suicide Squad isn’t a widely beloved piece of cinema, Margot Robbie’s performance was one of the film’s undeniable highlights – so the prospect of putting her front-and-centre and giving her her own team is sure to spark some interest. Sending Quinn on her own adventures also marks a new branch in the DCEU, following reports that Henry Cavill would be leaving the role of Superman and that the next steps in the franchise would introduce new characters including Supergirl. Next up on the DC slate is James Wan’s Aquaman, followed by Shazam!.
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