‘Birds of Prey’ Casts Black Canary and Huntress
Two important additions to the Birds of Prey cast have been confirmed: Jurnee Smollett-Bell will portray Dinah Drake (Black Canary) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead will portray Helena Bertinelli (Huntress). Both actresses will star alongside Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn as three more major roles have yet to be cast.
Deadline reports that Smollet-Bell and Winstead have been recruited as Black Canary and Huntress in the R-rated all-female team-up film. Winstead was the studio’s top choice against other auditions from Sofia Boutella, Cristin Milioti, and Margaret Qualley, while Smollett-Bell had an edge over Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Three more roles have yet to be cast: Cassandra Cain, Renee Montoya, and Roman Sionis (Black Mask), the last of which is expected to be the primary antagonist of the film. Cain is expected to be portrayed by a young Asian-American actress, with Peyton Elizabeth Lee rumored as one potential pick. Deadline‘s own sources have heard that two actresses are in the running for the part of Montoya: Justina Machado and Roberta Colindrez. While Deadline makes no mention of the last role, insiders have indicated that Sharlto Copley and Ewan McGregor are potential picks to play Black Mask:
Although unavailable, Sam Rockwell is the archetype for BLACK MASK and they're looking for someone with his lovable rogue qualities.
— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) September 26, 2018
Still have Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain's roles to cast as well as the crime lord up against the team. Hearing names like Sharlto and Ewan McGreggor are actors they like for the role but have only started meeting actors for that part https://t.co/OaVfpTfkyM
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) September 26, 2018
Deadline also adds that the movie will be set in Gotham, but without Batman as its guardian. Obviously, the situation with Ben Affleck and his future involvement with DC Films has been the subject of a lot of scuttlebutt and speculation for quite some time, and it seems like not only is he not needed for this story, but there’s an in-universe reason for why he’s not there. The easiest explanation I can think of is that this is set between Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, when Batman spent time outside of Gotham looking for information on various Metahumans that he could recruit in the event of a world-ending catastrophe that Superman wouldn’t be around to stop. Luckily, he managed to have his cake and eat it too by recruiting Superman before the team split ways and he returned to Gotham… Which is why taking the prequel route here would avoid raising those kind of questions.
Birds of Prey will be released on February 7, 2020.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
