When Warner Bros. first indicated that its DC superhero movie Birds Of Prey would be titled Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn), it was initially taken as a joke. DC superhero movies are supposed to be deadly serious, after all, and that ridiculous name was clearly proof of someone having a bit of uncharacteristic fun. As it turns out, the name really did start as a joke, with screenwriter Christina Hodson telling Collider that she put it in as an “unofficial aka” when she wrote the script. As the project started to move forward, the wacky name just stuck.
This is a good origin story for the name of something involving Harley Quinn, at least, and it hints that Birds Of Prey’s take on the character might be closer to the more manic and zany Harley from her solo comics than the more traditional, Joker-obsessed version that Margot Robbie played in Suicide Squad. Either way, the movie will see Robbie returning to the role and teaming up with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, with Ewan McGregor playing Gotham City mobster Black Mask.
Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) is just one part of Hodson’s journey to take over Hollywood’s adaptation machine, as she also wrote the Bumblebee movie and replaced Joss Whedon on Batgirl. The fact that none of those movies are out yet and she keeps getting high-profile work seems like a good sign.