The villain in Black Canary can provide an answer to an intriguing theory posed by The Suicide Squad. Reprising her role of Dinah Lance from Birds of Prey, Jurnee Smollett will headline the spin-off movie, which will be written by Misha Green and debut on HBO Max. There’s plenty to explore in Black Canary, and one such avenue is to confirm a villain theory connected to the wider DCEU.
Dinah was first seen as a singer in the Black Mask Club but was quickly promoted to sadist Roman Sionis' (Ewan McGregor) driver. She betrayed Roman by becoming detective Montoya’s (Rosie Perez) informant and Birds of Prey’s ending saw her form a female vigilante team. Much of Dinah’s life is still to be explored in Black Canary, but there’s already a villain theory that can be confirmed. James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad introduced a new roster of criminal cannon fodder, with one team member possibly linked to Dinah.
Despite the inclusion of a few characters from the first Task Force X team-up, The Suicide Squad generally paid little attention to establishing its place in the wider universe. However, one brief sequence in Belle Reve provides the chance to connect the movie to Black Canary, either as the main villain or a supporting player to flesh out Dinah’s vigilantism. The Suicide Squad opens in Belle Reve, with Savant (Michael Rooker) being recruited into Task Force X by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Immediately before their meeting, Savant sits in his cell, throwing a ball against various targets on the walls, displaying his marksmanship. When a yellow bird lands in the corner of his cell, he instantly kills it. This led many to believe it's a subtle reference to Dinah being his captor. Black Canary can easily confirm this villain theory with an appearance by Savant.
Savant may not even need to be the main villain for this theory to bear fruit. Depending on Black Canary’s place in the DCEU timeline, Savant could simply appear in flashbacks to establish Dinah’s crimefighting history. The Suicide Squad’s link is brief but does hold weight when considering Black Canary and Savant’s comics history. The villain arrived in Gotham fancying himself a vigilante like Batman, only to become a criminal and target both Black Canary and Oracle/Barbara Gordon.
With Barbara yet to make her debut in HBO Max’s upcoming Batgirl movie, it’s unlikely this comic storyline will be adapted. Black Canary’s villain is unknown, and Savant is only a minor antagonist, but incorporating him into Dinah’s spin-off movie can better establish him as a threat that warranted his incarceration in Belle Reve. This could swiftly pay off The Suicide Squad theory without detracting much attention from Dinah herself. Black Canary needs to properly expand on its protagonist, possibly exploring her past and present in a way Birds of Prey’s team-up format didn’t allow. Still, the Black Canary Easter eggs teased in Batgirl pose many questions about the state of the DCEU post-The Flash and Michael Keaton’s Batman return. Dinah’s spin-off might need to spend some time clarifying its DCEU connections and confirming The Suicide Squad theory would help in this regard.
Although the DCEU’s more recent, standalone efforts have been better received critically, sufficient connections remain necessary to understand this world. Gotham alone remains largely unexplored. It’s doubtful Roman/Black Mask will ever reappear in the DCEU, although he seemingly had the most history with Dinah. Black Canary could still reference characters like Roman, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and The Suicide Squad's Savant to demonstrate the DCEU very much remains a connected universe.
