DC’s ‘Birds of Prey’ Casts Batman Villain Victor Zsasz

Warner Bros. has found another villain for the Birds of Prey movie in Chris Messina, who will portray Gotham City serial killer Victor Zsasz.

Zsasz is known for carving a tally mark into his body for every victim he kills, and his body is covered in scars. According to Deadline’s report, Zsasz will be working with crime boss Black Mask, played by Ewan MacGregor.

Zsasz first appeared in 1992’s Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 during the “The Last Arkham” storyline.

Messina is known for his roles in The Mindy Project and the Golden Globe-nominated miniseries Sharp Objects. He was also part of the award-winning ensemble cast of Argo.

Cathy Han is directing the Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) from a script written by Christina Hodson. Production on Birds of Prey is expected to begin in January.

The movie stars Margot Robbie, reprising her role as Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad, and will introduce Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, the founding members of the girl gang-like vigilante team called the Birds of Prey. Rosie Perez also stars as Gotham City Detective Renee Montoya.

Hodson has previously explained the appeal of these characters.

“I just fell in love with Harley,” Hodson said of the character. “She makes me laugh, but she also makes me cry…She’s got such emotional depth that is completely contrasted by this light, superficial, fun exterior. Even in the comics when she is at her best, she’s doing something bad — and when she’s at her worst she’s doing something good. And that makes her so interesting and so much more real because that’s what people are like in real life. Very few people are just purely heroic or purely villainous, and she is this wonderful balance of everything.”

“This, I can say: [Robbie] is an amazing producer,” Hodson continued. “She’s so dedicated, cares so much, she is in it and works so hard — looks through every choice, reads through every draft, and has super-smart notes. I am all about finding good people you believe in as human beings as well as being good creative partners and producers, because it’s an investment — writing these movies takes it out of you. I’m also just excited that [director Cathy Yan] is a woman and she’s Asian. That’s a big deal.”

Are you excited about the Birds of Prey movie? Let us know in the comments!

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn) opens in theaters on February 7, 2020. And if you’re still not over that title, here’s why maybe you should be.

Upcoming DC Extended Universe movies include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazam on April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020.