Next summer, the DCEU will be getting a female-fronted antihero movie called Birds of Prey – well, technically, its full title is Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – that will put the women of Gotham City in the spotlight.
Margot Robbie, who is producing the movie and came up with the initial concept back in 2015 while shooting Suicide Squad, will reprise her role as Harley Quinn. the film will also star Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary. With several actresses cast in undisclosed roles, here are 10 Female DC Comics Characters We Hope To See In Birds Of Prey.
Catwoman
Catwoman has yet to make an appearance in the DC Extended Universe, despite the movies’ extensive portrayal of Gotham’s criminal underworld, so it’s about time she showed up. Birds of Prey seems as good a time as any for Selina Kyle to make her DCEU debut, given the film’s focus on female antiheroes in Gotham City.
In a just world, Catwoman would have equal billing to Harley Quinn. This is her city! But a supporting role will suffice, because Suicide Squad already proved that Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn can carry a movie, and that was when she was surrounded by dead weight.
Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller appeared in Suicide Squad, played by Viola Davis, but she was merely there as the exposition mouthpiece. She showed up at Arkham Asylum, explained the whole premise to take some shortcuts in the plotting of the film, and that was about it. Davis’ talents and the Waller character deserve better than that.
Waller is a government agent involved in the shadiest missions pulled off by convicted scapegoats. She has high-up political connections, while her perfect aim means she could even be involved in an action sequence or two. The DCEU has failed her so far and Birds of Prey will give the DCEU producers a chance to rectify this.
Vixen
Vixen possesses the Tantu Totem, which gives her the spirit of animals, which means that she can adopt the abilities of any animal at any time. We’ve seen two versions of the Vixen character in the CW’s Arrowverse, including the original version Mari McCabe in her own CW Seed animated series and the WWII-era version Amaya Jiwe in Legends of Tomorrow.
But we’ve yet to see the Vixen character realized on the silver screen with blockbuster visual effects and a major movie star playing her. Why not use Birds of Prey to start that off and maybe lead to a solo movie if she proves to be popular enough?
Stephanie Brown
Over the years, Stephanie Brown has taken on a few superhero alter egos, including Robin and Batgirl, but she also had her own alias as a caped crimefighter: Spoiler. Either way, she’s a legendary member of the Batman family – one with some serious edge – and it’s high time she made the leap to the silver screen.
In the comics, she has trained extensively with Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, and even the Birds of Prey, so there’s plenty of opportunities to fit her into the upcoming movie. She’s worked with both good guys and bad guys, making her an ideal candidate to join Harley Quinn and her squad of antiheroes on the screen.
Carol Ferris
We still have yet to see any sign of Green Lantern joining the DCEU, despite the fact that he’s a crucial member of the Justice League and the team already got a movie two years ago and a film called Green Lantern Corps, described tantalizingly as “Lethal Weapon in space,” was announced when the whole franchise was first announced.
A soldier named Carrie Farris – a clear allusion to Hal Jordan’s love interest Carol Ferris – has already shown up in two DCEU movies. She could reappear in Birds of Prey to assure fans that the Green Lantern movie is still coming, and finally give actress Christina Wren something to do beyond being an Easter egg.
Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl is a relatively obscure, yet awesome character from DC Comics lore. She has been given the ability of flight by a pair of artificial wings that are made of the Nth metal – the DC Comics universe’s answer to Marvel’s vibranium (in other words, a fictional metal that explains away anything that doesn’t abide by the laws of physics by the fact that it’s a fictional metal and can, therefore, do whatever the writers say it can) – so she would fit in with the gritty, grounded tone of the DCEU.
A few characters have taken on the Hawkgirl name, but the darkest and most recent version, and therefore the most suitable for a DCEU portrayal, is Kendra Saunders.
Poison Ivy
We haven’t seen Poison Ivy on the big screen since Uma Thurman played her in Batman & Robin. Thurman did a great job of translating the character to the film medium, to be fair to her – it’s just a shame that the movie turned out to be abysmal. Birds of Prey offers Warner Bros. a second chance.
Poison Ivy isn’t slated to make her DCEU debut until the similarly female-focused upcoming team-up Gotham City Sirens, but as long as she’s getting a place in this universe, she could make an appearance in at least one scene in Birds of Prey.
Lois Lane
Birds of Prey will reportedly see Harley Quinn, the Huntress, and Black Canary taking Cassandra Cain under their wing (bird pun totally intended) after she stumbles across a diamond belonging to the crime lord Black Mask. Amy Adams’ Lois Lane has yet to receive the screen time, story arcs, and recognition that a performer of Adams’ talent and stature deserves.
The DCEU’s Lois has always been characterized as a diligent reporter who will risk her life in search of the truth. Birds of Prey could see her on assignment in Gotham City, investigating Black Mask’s criminal empire. Like Cain, she could end up in need of protection.
Talia al Ghul
We’ve already seen the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul depicted on-screen in The Dark Knight Rises, where she was played by Marion Cotillard, although that movie played up the angle of her being Batman’s love interest and little else.
In the comics, Talia is more than just an on-and-off fling for the Caped Crusader. She can use swords, guns, she’s proficient in martial arts, she’s been affiliated with Deathstroke (whose presence in the DCEU was already teased in the Justice League post-credits stinger), she’s a genius – and thanks to the Lazarus Pit, she also has the power of resurrection and her aging process has been slowed down.
Batgirl
Much in the same way that Wonder Woman was introduced in Batman v Superman before being given her own solo movie, Barbara Gordon could make her debut in Birds of Prey – perhaps in the final battle against Black Mask (assuming the movie has such a scene), just as Wonder Woman did in the fight against Doomsday in BvS – before getting her own movie.
It was a shame when Warner Bros. announced that Joss Whedon had pulled out of writing and directing a Batgirl movie for the DCEU, but hopefully this movie will still happen with another writer-director, because she’s a fantastic character.
