In the 2016 superhero film Suicide Squad, an American intelligence officer assembles a team of dangerous criminals to complete high-risk missions. The antiheroes included Will Smith as expert marksman Headshot, Jay Hernandez as pyrokinetic gangster El Diablo and Margot Robbie as psychiatrist turned Joker accomplice turned badass with a bat, Harley Quinn. Cara Delevingne played the villain, demonic witch The Enchantress, although her greatest acting work was playing Gollum in a viral video.
Thanks to its promising premise and lighthearted tone, Suicide Squad was a box office success. However, the film drew negative reviews from critics, who bashed the choppy editing, paper-thin characters, over-reliance on pop songs, and nonsensical plot. Also, viewers mocked Jared Leto's "Hot Topic Juggalo" Joker, plus that cringeworthy line of the dialogue from Will Smith: "So, what are we, some kind of Suicide Squad?"
But even the haters had to admit that Margot Robbie was perfect as Harley Quinn. The character was first introduced in Batman: The Animated series, and became so popular she was added to the comic book canon. For the past three years, fans have been clamoring to see more Harley Quinn on the big screen and now they're finally getting their wish.
A Suicide Squad spinoff movie called Birds of Prey is currently in production. In the film, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn joins forces with two other costumed heroes, Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress, to save a little girl from ruthless crime boss Black Mask, played by Ewan MacGregor. (And I hope at one point in the movie, Margot Robbie turns to the camera and says, "So, what are we, some kind of Birds Of Prey?")
On Instagram, Margot Robbie shared a brilliant sneak peek of Harley Quinn's new look: Signature red lipstick and heart tattoo, while rocking a pink tube top and 80's-style jacket with colorful streamers. Since the story takes place after Harley left The Joker, there's not a trace of clown makeup, which explains the full title of the film: Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn).
A teaser trailer also dropped for the film, giving fans a tantalizing glimpse of the characters in motion. Birds of Prey is directed by Angie Yan, the first Asian-American woman to helm an epic Hollywood superhero film. Last year, Robbie explained to IndieWire why she wanted Yan to oversee the project:
"Well, it’s a female girl gang film. Historically, female filmmakers aren’t given the same opportunities, and we all need to be making conscious efforts to even out those statistics. But beyond that, there was going to be so many integral female characters in this story, in the Harley Quinn one, the girl gang film, that I wanted a truly female point of view and perspective on telling that story."
Birds of Prey is scheduled for release on February 7, 2020.
So, what was this, some kind of news article about a superhero movie?
