As always, reporting on any new development in the DC Films universe requires a strong “maybe” qualifier, but let’s be optimistic for a moment. Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. has hired Cathy Yan to direct an untitled female-ensemble DC Comics movie which would star, among others, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. If this goes through, and if Ava DuVernay’s New Gods movie actually gets made, this will give DC Films three movies helmed by female filmmakers (along with Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman) and three films helmed by minority filmmakers alongside DuVernay and James Wan’s Aquaman.
Like so many white male filmmakers before her, Yan appears to have gotten the gig from one well-liked indie, namely Dead Pigs (which just opened in theaters this past year, so no you can’t catch up with it quite yet, I just checked) which earned a World Cinema Dramatic Award for Ensemble Acting at this year’s Sundance festival. Deadline claims that A) her pitch for what seems to be a Birds of Prey movie was quite strong and B) Robbie, to her credit, held firm on the notion of a female director helming the female-ensemble superhero/supervillain picture.
The screenplay was penned by Christina Hodson, who wrote Bumblebee and was just tapped for Batgirl after Joss Whedon exited. If this is a Birds of Prey movie, we should expect to see the likes of Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl, Black Canary and some version of the Huntress (I grew up with the “daughter of a mob family seeking justice for her family’s crimes” version). We can only speculate as to which female baddies will show up, but a live-action superhero movie with Harley, Ivy and Catwoman doing battle with the Birds of Prey is a license to print money.
What separates this Harley Quinn project from Suicide Squad 2, Harley vs. the Joker or Gotham City Sirens is that it’s one that the fans want to see. There is obviously an interest in Suicide Squad 2 (Gavin O’Connor will do fine), but the notion of a David Ayer-directed all-lady DC Comics flick, or a Harley/Joker romance helmed by the folks who made Crazy Stupid Love was likely to inspire equal amounts of excitement and disdain or trepidation. But a Birds of Prey movie written and directed by women earns the benefit of the doubt.
It is a big deal that Cathy Yan (who started as a Wall Street Journal reporter before transitioning to filmmaking) is the first Asian female to helm a superhero flick. And it’s an even bigger deal that Warner Bros. seems to be learning the lessons of their prior successes and whiffs. Giving folks a Justice League movie that attempts to be like The Avengers didn’t work. Giving folks comic book superhero movies that stand out from the crowd, with new and (comparatively) unconventional voices may allow the DC flicks thrive alongside its MCU and Fox competition.
Now let’s just hope that the movie actually gets made as described. DC Films franchise flicks don’t have to beat Marvel as long as they succeed on their own specific terms. If Aquaman is solid and Shazam is at least pretty good, then (along with Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 2) we can make the tentative argument that DC Films isn’t quite down for the count. Warner Bros. hasn’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt, but maybe the DC Films movies will start to be at least as good as the majority of their non-DC tentpole/franchise output.
After all, if they can distribute two halfway decent video game adaptations (Tomb Raider and Rampage) in a month, they can figure out how to make consistently solid comic book superhero movies.
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As always, reporting on any new development in the DC Films universe requires a strong “maybe” qualifier, but let’s be optimistic for a moment. Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. has hired Cathy Yan to direct an untitled female-ensemble DC Comics movie which would star, among others, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. If this goes through, and if Ava DuVernay’s New Gods movie actually gets made, this will give DC Films three movies helmed by female filmmakers (along with Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman) and three films helmed by minority filmmakers alongside DuVernay and James Wan’s Aquaman.
Like so many white male filmmakers before her, Yan appears to have gotten the gig from one well-liked indie, namely Dead Pigs (which just opened in theaters this past year, so no you can’t catch up with it quite yet, I just checked) which earned a World Cinema Dramatic Award for Ensemble Acting at this year’s Sundance festival. Deadline claims that A) her pitch for what seems to be a Birds of Prey movie was quite strong and B) Robbie, to her credit, held firm on the notion of a female director helming the female-ensemble superhero/supervillain picture.
The screenplay was penned by Christina Hodson, who wrote Bumblebee and was just tapped for Batgirl after Joss Whedon exited. If this is a Birds of Prey movie, we should expect to see the likes of Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl, Black Canary and some version of the Huntress (I grew up with the “daughter of a mob family seeking justice for her family’s crimes” version). We can only speculate as to which female baddies will show up, but a live-action superhero movie with Harley, Ivy and Catwoman doing battle with the Birds of Prey is a license to print money.
What separates this Harley Quinn project from Suicide Squad 2, Harley vs. the Joker or Gotham City Sirens is that it’s one that the fans want to see. There is obviously an interest in Suicide Squad 2 (Gavin O’Connor will do fine), but the notion of a David Ayer-directed all-lady DC Comics flick, or a Harley/Joker romance helmed by the folks who made Crazy Stupid Love was likely to inspire equal amounts of excitement and disdain or trepidation. But a Birds of Prey movie written and directed by women earns the benefit of the doubt.
It is a big deal that Cathy Yan (who started as a Wall Street Journal reporter before transitioning to filmmaking) is the first Asian female to helm a superhero flick. And it’s an even bigger deal that Warner Bros. seems to be learning the lessons of their prior successes and whiffs. Giving folks a Justice League movie that attempts to be like The Avengers didn’t work. Giving folks comic book superhero movies that stand out from the crowd, with new and (comparatively) unconventional voices may allow the DC flicks thrive alongside its MCU and Fox competition.
Now let’s just hope that the movie actually gets made as described. DC Films franchise flicks don’t have to beat Marvel as long as they succeed on their own specific terms. If Aquaman is solid and Shazam is at least pretty good, then (along with Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 2) we can make the tentative argument that DC Films isn’t quite down for the count. Warner Bros. hasn’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt, but maybe the DC Films movies will start to be at least as good as the majority of their non-DC tentpole/franchise output.
After all, if they can distribute two halfway decent video game adaptations (Tomb Raider and Rampage) in a month, they can figure out how to make consistently solid comic book superhero movies.
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