After the “success” of Suicide Squad, it was announced that Harley Quinn will be returning in a multitude of upcoming films. We’ve heard that there will be a Birds of Prey film, Gotham City Sirens, Suicide Squad 2, an untitled Joker solo film, and Harley Quinn vs. The Joker. It’s now been reported that a director has been found for one of these films. Cathy Yan will be directing the next Harley Quinn film, but which one will it be?
Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment revealed that Yan is the director of an untitled girl gang movie, so this leads speculation to be the Birds of Prey. A deal has yet to be completed, but Yan will become the 3rd female filmmaker for DC after Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) and Ava DuVernay (The New Gods). Yan is also the first female Asian director ever to direct a superhero film.
It’s a pretty bold decision for Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada, they oversee DC under Toby Emmerich. Yan was given the job over many well-established male directors and she only has one small-budget indie film under her belt. Her film, Dead Pigs, won the World Cinema Dramatic Award for Ensemble Acting at the Sundance Film Festival last January. Yan’s presentation for Birds of Prey was phenomenal and Margot Robbie held firm for her desire for her film to be directed by a woman.
The project is based on the Birds of Prey which features Harley Quinn teaming up with several other crime fighters such as Black Canary, Batgirl, and Huntress. It has not been confirmed yet which characters will appear in the film. What is clear, however, is the main characters and most of the creative braintrust are female. That’s pretty amazing for a grand studio superhero film. The script has been written by Christina Hodson, who has also written Bumblebee and now has been hired for the solo Batgirl film.
The film looks to start production by the end of the year or very early 2019. They have to wait to begin filming since Robbie is currently filming Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. The other Harley films are still under construction with no word on when they will start filming. That includes Suicide Squad 2, Harley Quinn vs. The Joker, and Gotham City Sirens.
We hope Yan will do the film justice and give us something amazing like Jenkins did with Wonder Woman.
