BIRDS OF PREY Casts Its Black Canary And Huntress
The past week has been stirring quite a bit for Warner Bros.’s latest push to cast DC adaptation, Birds Of Prey. That report broke exclusively at The Hollywood Reproter at the time and now the word at Deadline is confirming the additions of Jurnee Smolett-Bell (Roll Bounce, Underground) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Death Proof, Scott Pilgrim VS. The World) for the respective roles of Black Canary and Huntress.
Smolett-Bell and Winstead were among a crop of picks for the roles including Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sofia Boutella, Janelle Monae, Margaret Qualley and Cristin Milioti. The two will now join the DC feature headlining with actress and DCEU prospect, Suicide Squad headliner and actress Margot Robbie who will reprise as Harley Quinn.
Cathy Yan is making her mark at directing from a script by Bumblebee scribe Christina Hodson which will see our trio battle a force of evil in a Gotham left unprotected by Batman. Other roles were reportedly still in the casting process including that of Cassandra Cain and that of Gotham City detective Renee Montoya.
Black Canary, created by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino by 1947, is an apt hand-to-hand combatant best known for her supersonic damage-inducing “canary cry”. Huntress is a mafia princess who suffers a history similar to that of a young Bruce Wayne long before adapting to her vigilante moniker. Both made their way to the Birds Of Prey comics which launched in 1995, as well as DC’s 2011 New 52 revamp.
Production is slated for January with a Februay 7, 2020 date on deck as of this week.
