You better believe that the DCEU is spreading its wings further in the near future as Birds of Prey will be arriving to bring in a unique take on the superhero genre, as well as adding in new female leading characters in this universe.
The promotion for the film has been done well so far, but that doesn’t mean it’s all positivity that fans are feeling. While we’re hopeful the film turns out well, there are certain points that need to be addressed so that Birds of Prey hopefully does not turn out to be a disappointment. With this in mind, here are 5 reasons we’re excited and 5 reasons we're worried about the film.
Excited: Promoting New Heroes
We saw how Shazam! injected new life into the DCEU last year with its mix of comedy and action, and this feeling of freshness was possible due to the main character being someone mainstream audiences weren’t familiar with.
In the same vein, Birds of Prey will be a great launching pad for the supporting cast of heroes who are in for the ride. By the time the film ends, the ideal situation would be that the DCEU will have established Huntress, Black Canary, and Cassandra Cain.
Worried: Familiar Storyline
The concept of an anti-hero protecting a teenager against outside forces is one we’ve seen many times, even from films that aren’t part of the superhero genre. In fact, Deadpool 2 had something around the same ballpark last year.
Harley Quinn is far from a traditional hero, much like Deadpool, so Birds of Prey will need to diversify and bring in some kind of twist for it to stand out on its own. Simply having a straightforward story won’t be very exciting.
Excited: Good Contrast To Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984 will continue Gal Gadot’s time as the frontrunning hero in the DCEU, bringing with it a traditional formula where a good guy goes against the villain to save the day. For this reason, Birds of Prey arriving around the same time is a good choice as it provides a different experience.
Had a similar film with an anti-hero character been released, then 2020 for DCEU would’ve felt very predictable. This will also give the home release of Birds of Prey additional value since, by that point, Wonder Woman 1984 will be out in theaters and fans can watch both these films in perfect contrast.
Worried: That It Might Be Suicide Squad 2.0
At this time of writing, The Suicide Squad isn’t going to be released until two years later, but Birds of Prey is already being seen as that film's prologue. This isn’t the kind of publicity it needs, though, as Suicide Squad was disappointing enough to cast doubts over the DCEU repeating the same mistakes.
So far, the storyline for Birds of Prey does seem distinct, but we might be in for a horrible surprise and find out the format is the same as Suicide Squad, where a bunch of misfits waste time by trying to come up with catchphrases.
Excited: New Characterization For Harley Quinn
We would’ve preferred to have seen Harley be the antagonist she is in the animated series she was derived from, but it’s not altogether bad that the DCEU is moving forward in painting her as some sort of a hero.
At least, Harley should have a character of her own rather than be tied down to the Joker as she was in Suicide Squad. In that movie, she was nearly solely defined by her obsession with the Clown Prince of Crime; with Birds of Prey, we can find out exactly where the boundaries are for Harley’s villainous nature to reappear, and where her anti-hero personality starts.
Worried: Chances Of False Advertising
Films like Suicide Squad and Justice League messed with fans by delivering a fair bit of false advertisement, which paid off horribly as those films’ critical reception was marred by disappointing viewers.
By now, we know Birds of Prey is supposed to be about Harley and her new friends protecting Cassandra Cain, which should be the flow the story takes. Although some kind of twist would be welcome, Birds of Prey being a completely different movie from the one advertised would be a terrible move.
Excited: Distinct Villains
Victor Zsasz has been a favorite among Batman fans, and his appearance in Birds of Prey has definitely cast intrigue over exactly what his role would be. Black Mask has been confirmed to be the main villain, with Ewan McGregor’s character coming across as somewhat unhinged in the trailers.
The best way to describe our feelings would be “So far so good,” as these villains haven’t been over-promoted to have our expectations wildly fly high. They are also distinct enough to fit the theme of the film perfectly, as a crazy character like Harley Quinn needs some crazy villains.
Worried: That The Joker Might Appear
Should there indeed be a twist in the movie, we genuinely hope it’s not the Joker who arrives and reveals that he was the one who had commissioned Harley to be on her adventures the whole time. This would once more be an informed attribute from this character, who hasn’t delivered on what the in-universe image of his is.
Suicide Squad kept hyping up what Joker was capable of, only for him to be nothing like the crazy genius that we were led to believe he was. A guy like Victor Zsasz is more than enough to fill in the manic and deranged quality that DC wants in Birds of Prey.
Excited: Potential For Spin-Offs
It’s expected that Birds of Prey would be the first in a series of movies that focus on Harley Quinn leading a gang of female misfits, with Gotham City Sirens expected to be the follow-up. But we’re not stopping just there in our expectations.
Should this film be a critical success, there’s no reason why we can’t get an expanded world for characters like Black Canary and Huntress. Black Canary already has an established association with Green Arrow in comics and TV media, and it could be through her that the hero is introduced, thereby opening up several more spin-offs for the future.
Worried: Going Overboard With The R-Rating
The last superhero carrying an R-rating was Hellboy, and we saw just how much of a disaster that turned out to be. The problem is that even fans don’t know what an R-rating entails and most simply want this rating because they think it’s cool. However, this leads to studios misinterpreting that simple violence is all the R-rating is about.
What we want in Birds of Prey is for Harley Quinn to have no filter in what she says, and the new characters having a certain edge to themselves that isn’t possible in a PG-13 movie. Only occasional brutality would be acceptable, such as Victor Zsasz’s crime spree; but over-the-top violence would just make this a generic shooter film with a bunch of curse words that only appeal to teenagers.