‘Birds of Prey’: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Teases Her “Strong”, “Emotional” Take on Huntress

It’s only been a day since Mary Elizabeth Winstead was officially cast as the DC Extended Universe’s version of Huntress, and we already have insight to how she’s approaching the role.

In a new interview with The Wrap, Winstead discussed her role as Helena Bertinelli/Huntress in the upcoming Birds of Prey movie, which will bring about some new experiences for her.

“I’m going to start training, and I’ll be learning how to shoot a bow and arrow, too — which is new for me,” Winstead revealed.

Despite being best known in the nerd world as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Winstead has a unique relationship with the comic book world, and was ultimately drawn to the film because of its unique approach on Helena.

“I can’t say that I was a huge comic book reader,” Winstead explained. “But when I met with Cathy Yan, who’s directing the film, and learned kind of the back story of the character, I was really interested. It’s a really strong, kind of emotional place to start from for a superhero character. I won’t go into too much detail now, but I think it’s interesting and an opportunity to do something cool with this kind of character.”

In the comics, Helena is the daughter of one of Gotham’s mafia bosses, who turns to a life of vigilantism after her family is murdered. She soon joined forces with Batgirl and Black Canary, with the three of them being seen as the main trifecta of the Birds of Prey. While Helena is occasionally seen as a little impulsive and violent, she has proved to be a hero on many occasions.

Birds of Prey will see Winstead’s Huntress joining forces with Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain, to take down the mob boss Black Mask. As it turns out, the female-led nature of the project apparently proved to be a major selling point for Winstead.

“It’s really exciting, and even the process of going through getting the role and everything was a very different experience than I’ve typically been through,” Winstead added. “Being with the other actresses and a female director and just the whole energy behind this is so unique, so I’m really happy about that.”

Are you excited to see Winstead make her debut as Huntress in Birds of Prey? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Birds of Prey will be released on February 7, 2020. Upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019.