Many thought Margot Robbie had to be kidding when she revealed a few weeks ago that her next DC superhero movie would be titled, ‘Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)’. But she quickly appeared on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’ and assured that the title was real and was meant to emphasize that this was not a dark movie. As she explained, “It’s not a very serious movie so we thought the title should reflect that. ‘Birds of Prey’ makes it sound really serious and that’s kind of like Harley adding her, ‘Don’t worry, I’m in this too.’”
Screenwriter Christina Hodson agreed that the crazy long title was meant to be tongue-in-cheek and that she didn’t expect the subtitle to stick.
” I don’t know if I’m officially allowed to say, but there’s no reason why not. It was an unofficial aka, when I wrote the script. I added it about a year or so ago, almost exactly as it is, just as an aka. I didn’t think we’d ever use it. We’d always used a working title, so I just had it as a cheeky little thing, on the front cover. And then, when we were talking about a title and brainstorming, we all kept drifting back to that one.”
Hodson isn’t leaving Gotham City anytime soon. She is now working on a screenplay for a ‘Batgirl’ movie but states that Warner Brothers is giving her a lot of wiggle room since the character isn’t that well-established with the general public.
“I actually don’t think it is that established. A few people remember Alicia Silverstone doing that, but that movie was not one that is seminal. So, I do feel very free doing that one, and the studio is being super supportive, in letting me dream up whatever I want to dream up.”
While she couldn’t specify why, Hodson expressed that she was very excited to be writing the character:
“Many things, but I’m not allowed to talk about that, at all. She’s cool. With all of these characters – the ones that I’m creating and that are original, like Charlie (from ‘Bumblebee’), and the ones I’m getting to inherit and play with – they’re independent, intelligent, capable, interesting and nuanced, and nuanced really is the main thing. They’re not one thing or another. They are flawed, complex, beautiful, wonderful, weird, and fully rounded and fully fleshed out characters. We’ve got so many great actresses out there, that are ready to play these roles, that it’s fun to be writing roles for them.”
If fans want a taste of what to expect from Hodson’s DC work, her first major big budget movie, ‘Bumblebee’ opens on December 21.
‘Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)’ will be directed by Cathy Yan and is expected to begin filming in January to be released on February 7, 2020.
‘Batgirl’ does not currently have a director attached or a release date.
Source: Collider
