It appears that the biggest mystery around Warner Brothers’ DC Comics adaptation ‘Birds of Prey’ may have finally been solved.  In the comics, the original team consisted of Black Canary and Barbara Gordon/Oracle but, over the years many heroes and even villains have operated as members.  So when WB announced plans to build a ‘Birds of Prey’ movie around Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, everyone wondered which characters that team would incorporate.  And what supervillain will be so intimidating that it required the heroes to join forces?

It had previously been rumored that The Penguin might be the bad guy, but the latest buzz is that the villain of ‘Birds of Prey’ will be taken from Batman’s Rogues Gallery, but will be someone that has never been seen on the big screen.  Personally, I’m not sure if that description is 100% accurate, as ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ included Crazy Quilt, Condiment King, and Egghead, among dozens of others.  (Like Magpie, King Tut, The Eraser…)  But maybe they meant a villain that had not appeared in live action.  So that rules The Penguin out, along with Ra’s and Talia Al-Ghul, Bane, Catwoman, Deadshot, Carmine Falcone, The Joker, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, The Scarecrow, Two-Face and Victor Zsasz.  It also most likely eliminates Deathstroke the Terminator, who isn’t a Batman foe, but seemed to be positioned as one for the current DC movies, with Joe Manganiello in the role.  So… let the guessing begin.

As for the protagonists, it has been largely assumed that Harley Quinn will be re-purposed as a hero for this movie, or at least an anti-hero.  It was also recently rumored that Barbara Gordon would appear but not as Batgirl, so she will most likely be Oracle, although Warner Bros has plans for a solo ‘Batgirl’ film.  But will it feature Barbara?  Maybe not.

The latest buzz is that Casandra Cain will be featured in ‘Birds of Prey’.  The daughter of assassin David Cain and Lady Shiva was raised to be a killer but turned over a new leaf and adopted the identity of Batgirl in 1999.  The big question now is whether or not Warner Brothers will actually use Cassandra Cain as Batgirl in their upcoming solo movie instead of Barbara Gordon, the person most closely-identified with the identity.

Cassandra may go by her alternate alias The Black Bat, if the rumors that Batgirl won’t be in this movie are true, or maybe that just meant that Barbara Gordon wouldn’t be Batgirl.

A few characters that will be included aren’t very surprising, one of whom is Black Canary, a martial arts expert who also has a sonic scream that can shatter a brick wall.

It was rumored two weeks ago that The Huntress would be part of this ensemble.  Other than Barbara Gordon and Black Canary, The Huntress is the character most closely associated with the ‘Birds of Prey’.  She is often depicted as an anti-hero that doesn’t fit in well with more altruistic superheroes.

The most startling character that is rumored to appear is Renee Montoya.  This character was introduced on ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ as a Gotham City uniformed police officer who frequently worked with Harvey Bullock.  She was later brought into the comic books and similarly to ‘Superman: The Animated Series” police officer Maggie Sawyer, was revealed to be a lesbian.  In the comic series ’52’, Montoya befriended the conspiracy theorist The Question and after his death, she took over his identity and mission.  Renee was depicted as a down and out alcoholic prior to her involvement with The Question, but she rallied and redeemed herself.  Off panel, she was romantically involved with Batwoman/Kate Kane.  (Who later had a relationship with Maggie Sawyer, now that I think about it.  Huh, weird.)

Christina Hodson penned the screenplay for ‘Birds of Prey’ and Cathy Yan will direct.  Robbie will serve as a producer.  Unlike the majority of comic book movies, this one may wind up with an R-rating.

What do you think of this lineup for a live-action ‘Birds of Prey’ movie?  Anyone you would prefer to see?

Source: The Wrap