'Birds of Prey' Will Cast Diverse Leads, Says Margot Robbie

When casting for the Warner Brothers' upcoming Birds of Prey movie, the production crew will be [...]

When casting for the Warner Brothers' upcoming Birds of Prey movie, the production crew will be sure to cast diverse leads, according to actress Margot Robbie — the person behind Harley Quinn in DC's budding movie universe.

Sitting down with Yahoo! to promoted her upcoming movie Terminal, Robbie reassured us that the movie will include a diverse cast.

"Yep, yes exactly, real life isn't so one specific images," said Robbie. "We've got to reflect that onscreen."

Although little else has been revealed about Birds of Prey, director Cathy Yan has reportedly been tabbed to direct the movie, marking the first time a non-white, female director will helm a DC movie.

Robbie recently described the film as an "R-rated girl gang film."

"I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, 'Harley needs friends.' Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film," Robbie shared with Collider. "She's got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn't seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it."

"And then, of course, having a female director to tell that story. And giving a female director the chance to do big budget stuff," Robbie continued. "They always get 'Here's the tiny little film'… I was like, 'I love action. I love action films. I'm a girl. What, are we meant to only like a specific thing'? So it was a hugely important to find a female director for this, if possible. But at the end of the day — male, female — the best director gets the job and Cathy was the best director."

In the DC Comics Universe, the Birds of Prey are an all-female hero group founded by Batgirl (Barbara Gordon, going by Oracle at the time), Black Canary, and Huntress. It is not clear if these characters will be involved with the Harley-centered Birds of Prey movie, though the Birds of Prey script is being written by the Transformers Bumblebee spinoff writer Christina Hodson, who has also been hired by DC Films to write DC's Batgirl movie.

Birds of Prey currently does not have a release date, nor do any of the other films set to feature Harley Quinn. Other upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020.

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