‘Birds of Prey’ teaser trailer hits the web as production begins in LA

by Andy Lyons, Editor-in-Chief

A new 20-second teaser trailer for the highly anticipated DC Comics film “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” hit the web Monday morning. Production on the Margot Robbie-led film began this month in Los Angeles, and each of the main characters has some brief screen time in the trailer.

The film stars Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Ewan McGregor as the film’s villain, Black Mask.

The Birds of Prey is a superhero team notable for featuring an almost entirely female roster, typically featuring Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress. Together, they battle the villains and challenges too great for any lone heroine to overcome. And as the team’s ranks have grown over the years, they’ve taken a more active role in protecting the wider world, not just Gotham City. Birds of Prey has been known to feature characters such as Lady Blackhawk, Big Barda, Misfitt, Hawk, Dove, Katana, Poison Ivy, and Manhunter.

In the comics, Birds of Prey was part of the DC New 52 relaunch in 2011. After some mixed reviews the comic was relaunched again in 2016 with a DC Rebirth title “Batgirl and the Birds of Prey” and primarily follows the classic lineup of Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress.

Robbie’s Harley Quinn will be featured heavily in the film, but Quinn isn’t featured in Birds of Prey in the comics. Harley is a member of the Suicide Squad and Gotham City Sirens – which includes Poison Ivy and Catwoman. During a run of the supervillain team-up comics “Secret Six,” Quinn fights against the Birds of Prey.

The new film moves the DCEU foward, with “Birds of Prey” taking place before a “Suicide Squad” sequel, which is set to begin production this fall. Birds of Prey has Cathy Yan on board as director and a screenplay from Christina Hodson. The film is currently scheduled to be released on February 7, 2020.