Movies & TV / News

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gugu Mbatha-Raw & More Up For Birds of Prey Roles

September 21, 2018 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Mary Elizabeth Winstead Gugu Mbatha-Raw Birds of Prey

Warner Bros. has their shortlists for the key roles in their upcoming Birds of Prey film, which will feature Harley Quinn among other roles. Deadline reports that the characters who will join Margot Robbie’s Harley will include Huntress, Rene Montoya and Black Canary.

According to the outlet, Warner Bros. and DC Films are considering Sofia Boutella (Kingsman, The Mummy), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Fargo, 10 Cloverfield Lane), Cristin Milioti (Wolf of Wall Street, How I Met Your Mother), and Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) for the role of Huntress. Huntress, aka Helena Bertinelli, is the daughter of a Mafia boss in Gotham who strikes out on her own as a vigilante after her family is murdered in a mob hit. The character has appeared on The CW’s Arrow as played by Jessica De Gouw. Helena has worked alongside Batgirl and Black Canary as a core member of the Birds of Prey.

For Renee Montoya, Justina Machado (One Day at a Time) and Roberta Colindrez (Vida) are said to be on the short list. Renee is a police officer in Gotham who has worked under the alias The Question after she left the police force due to its corruption. She is also one of DC comics more prominent and popular LGBTQ+ characters, being an out lesbian.

Warner Bros. and DC are currently looking at Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Black Mirror, Belle) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Eve’s Bayou, Underground) for the role of Black Canary, aka Dinah Laurel Lance. One of DC’s more prominent heroines, Black Canary is a close ally and love interest of Green Arrow and has appeared in Arrow as Laurel Lance, played by Katie Cassidy. After Laurel died on the show, a new character named Dinah Drake who had Canary’s metahuman “canary cry” sonic attack took on the role. Dinah is played by Juliana Harkavy on the show.

The plot for the Cathy Yan-directed film will see Harley team up with Canary, Huntress and Renee to take on the villainous Black Mask, with the help of Batman supporting heroine Cassandra Cain. Production on the film kicks off next year, with final casting decisions on the lead roles expected in the next two weeks.