According to new reports, Warner Bros. may be looking for a director for the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie Birds of Prey.
Not much has been heard about the project since late 2016, when Christina Hodges (who wrote Shut In, Unforgettable and most recently Bumblebee: The Movie) was hired to create a script. If this report is true, then it seems as the studio liked her work; this is backed up by other recent news that she has been hired to pen a script for the Batgirl movie.
In the comic books, the Birds of Prey are a team of almost exclusively female heroes (technically Hawk was a member for a time, but pretty much only so that they could have his female partner, Dove). Many different women worked with the team over the years, but its core members are Black Canary (Dinah Lance, a martial artist who also has “the Canary Cry,” a supernaturally powerful scream), Huntress (Helena Bertinelli, a vigilante who originally fought crime to avenge her murdered Mafia parents) and Barbara Gordon.
Barbara Gordon (daughter of Batman’s ally, Commissioner Jim Gordon) was the first Batgirl, but she started the group after being crippled and instead using the identity of “Oracle,” a master hacker who worked as an information broker for other superheroes. However, as of the comics’ New 52 event in 2011, she has regained her ability to walk and resumed the title of Batgirl, and works with the Birds of Prey under that title.
This was a controversial move, as many fans find Oracle more interesting and/or feel this is a step back for representation of the disabled. It is believed that a Birds of Prey movie will have her as Batgirl, especially given the other movie planned in the DCEU.
Screen Rant reports the Birds of Prey script Hodges wrote includes Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad), though it is unknown if she will be a villain or a reluctant, anti-hero teammate.
It is not known if Warner Bros. has an frontrunners picked for the role of director, though it is likely that they will try to find a woman; there has been some controversy about female-led movies having male directors, which may have been part of the reason that Joss Whedon stepped down from Batgirl.
