Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn Expected to Shoot Early 2019
Phil Roberts 
Harley Quinn is back and aiming for an R-Rating!
Whether you liked, loved or loathed the DCEU blockbuster Suicide Squad, one thing was undeniable – Margot Robbie couldn’t put a foot wrong as the Joker’s beloved sidekick, Harley Quinn. The character made her debut in Bruce Timm’s award-winning Batman: The Animated Series and quickly became a firm fan favourite cementing an ever-present place beside the clown prince of crime.
In fact, the DC Universe just wouldn’t be the same without Harley Quinn.
Despite the divisive reaction to Suicide Squad, the universal DC fanbase seem to be unified in their demand for more Harley Quinn content moving forward and are willing to pay their hard earned money to see Margot Robbie back in the role. In light of the DC Cinematic Universe treading on thin ice in the upshot of Justice League’s lukewarm reception, this is fantastic news to the studio heads at Warner Bros, who are currently engaged in a race against time to have Aquaman ready for its December release slot.
Therefore, it is with no real surprise that Warner Bros are pressing ahead with multiple projects featuring the Gotham City Siren, the first of which is approaching faster than Superman can fly. Margot Robbie has confirmed that production on Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, an all-female DC blockbuster is set to get underway in January.
In an interview with Collider back in May, Robbie confirmed she had pitched an idea to Warner Bros that would involve Harley and a team of female counterparts teaming together.
“I wanted to make an R-rated girl gang film including Harley because I was like, ‘Harley needs friends.’ Harley loves interacting with people, so don’t ever make her do a standalone film. 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.”
The intention of producing a film worthy of the R-rating hasn’t been confirmed by Warner Bros, but Margot Robbie seems confident that it will be. In an interview with Flickering Myth, she added: BIRDS OF PREY will be “different” from the other Harley Quinn spin-offs and made with a “much smaller budget,”
Whether Warner Bros has the stomach to produce a “Deadpool styled” girl gang flick and risk alienating the younger cinemagoers remains to be seen, but the majority of DC fans would be chomping at the bit to see it. Hopefully, we will have further information when the DC train rolls into San Diego Comic-Con this year.
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is set to be directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs) and has been scripted by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee), the feature is based upon the Birds of Prey comic book, which finds renowned superheroes such as Black Canary, Barbara Gordon “Batgirl” and Huntress teaming up to save us destruction.
Warner Bros. has announced February 2020 as an official release date, but with shooting commencing early in the new year we can expect to more juicy gossip very soon. Until then, you can immerse yourself in more Harley Quinn action when her debut television series arrives on the DC Universe streaming service in the coming months.
Happy watching.
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Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager, and Editor-In-Chief of The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force and babbles frequently!
