‘Birds of Prey’ Casts Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain
DC’s Harley Quinn-led spin-off Birds of Prey has found its Cassandra Cain in the form of young actress Ella Jay Basco.
Variety has scooped that Basco, who has had roles in Gray’s Anatomy and Veep, will be portraying Cassandra Cain in the superhero team-up film in her first big-screen performance. The daughter of two prominent assassins (David Cain and Lady Shiva), Cain is trained to become a ruthless killing machine, but she ultimately realizes that she doesn’t want that kind of life and runs away. Her backstory is presumably similar in this movie, but it will cause her to cross paths with the Birds of Prey, along with the absolutely ruthless mobster Black Mask.
While Cain is usually portrayed as being old enough to fully suit-up as Batgirl, an identity she assumes when Barbara Gordon vacates that role, Gordon is set to be established as Batgirl in a future DC Films project that will be made down the road. As such, Cain is portrayed as younger in this story than usual, and could suit up as Batgirl somewhere down the road. (Incidentally, Batgirl is usually tied to the Birds of Prey, but her story is being saved for her standalone. It’s likely that Batgirl will cross paths with the Birds of Prey at a later point in time.)
Aside from Cain, the cast of DC characters included in Birds of Prey include Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, who is returning from Suicide Squad. Newcomers to the DC Films continuity include Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, and Ewan McGregor as Black Mask. Directed by Cathy Yan, written by Christina Hodson, and produced by Robbie, Sue Kroll, and Bryan Unkless, the project is expected to be the first R-rated movie in the setting (not counting the director’s cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).
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.
