The new trailer for Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) dropped last week amid the buzz surrounding the controversial release of Joker, the perfect way for Quinn to rise above her psychopathic ex-boyfriend and start a new life for herself. The choice to leave out the character, played by Jared Leto in this universe, instantly improves the film from 2016’s Suicide Squad, with Leto’s method acting failing to translate to the modern, cool villain we see in Harley Quinn. From her gang-style tattoos and dip-dyed hair, fans around the world fell in love with the ditsy character, and the trailer for Birds of Prey shows she’s here to stay, with some refreshing cast additions.
Making their DCEU debut, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) complete Quinn’s motley crew, who band together to protect Cassandra Cain, a young girl threatened by the Black Mask. Why Harley Quinn, a murderous, insane villain is so concerned with a young girl will have to be explained in the film, but it seems that Quinn is moving into antihero territory without the influence of her abusive ex-boyfriend. A standalone film would have been an exciting prospect for fans, but a failure in terms of character development. Star Margot Robbie, who has also been credited as an executive producer for the film said in an interview with Collider:
“I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like […] she’s got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn’t seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it.”
With the recent push for more female representation behind the scenes of films, Asian-American Cathy Yan was appointed to direct. A relatively unknown director whose first feature film Dead Pigs received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, her influence on the film looks to be positive- the trailer is full of stunning shots that instantly identify it as Harley Quinn’s film. Vibrant, explosive, and highly aesthetically pleasing, like Quinn herself, the film seems promising, a difficult feat after the disaster that was Suicide Squad. With Ewan McGregor set to make his debut as Black Mask, Birds of Prey is shaping up to be one of the most exciting films of next year. Birds of Prey looks like it will make good on its promise to deliver a true-to-the-source comic book film that will live up to the standards set by Marvel, a female-empowering, funny, exciting addition to an iconic character. The trailer opens with Quinn declaring ‘A harlequin’s role is to serve. It’s nothing without a master’. Hopefully, Birds of Prey will see Harley Quinn become the master of her fate.
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