Birds of Prey Star Mary Elizabeth Winstead Calls Huntress an Awkward Assassin

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn will return in Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of the One Harley Quinn), but she won't be alone. As the name suggests, she will be accompanied by two fan-favorite DC heroes, including Black Canary (played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Huntress, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Huntress has always been the harder-edged member of the group thanks to her mafia hunting origins, and that will be a big part of her character in the film as well. As Winstead explains in a new interview though, that focus on her mission has had an impact on her regarding social interactions, making the character a bit awkward when she's not going after a target.

"She's kind of an odd character… She's weird, and funny and awkward," Winstead told The Wrap. "You sort of get to tell this story of this girl who grew up training to be an assassin and didn't ever have friends, and doesn't know how to fit in socially, and doesn't really know anything other than how to kill."

"We got to sort of play around with that in ways that are in ways that were both sort of sometimes disturbing and sometimes really funny," Winstead said. "To get to play with that kind of a character was a really great opportunity."

Huntress has always been an important part of the Birds' dynamic, contrasting well against the more even-keeled Batgirl and the lethal but compassionate Black Canary. In the movie, we're still unsure of how the tone of Canary, but we definitely know what to expect from Harley, and she will definitely present an intriguing personality for Huntress to play off of.

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is directed by Cathy Yan and stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ewan McGregor, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Bojana Novakovic, Jenelle McKee, Ali Wong, and Matthew Willig.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) hits theaters on February 7th, 2020.