Birds of Prey: Jurnee Smollett-Bell Teases Her Take on Black Canary

The first trailer for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) debuted last week, introducing audiences to the big-screen takes on some of DC Comics' most beloved heroines. Among those is Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), one of DC's longest-running female heroes and the founding member of the Birds of Prey. In a recent interview with DC Daily, Smollett-Bell provided more insight into her portrayal of Dinah, and how she will embody the characteristics people love her for, albeit in an unexpected way.

"She's the Dinah Lance that we know and love from the comics, you know?" Smollett-Bell revealed. "This ferocious street fighter. When we meet Dinah in the film, though, she's a singer in Roman's Black Mask club, and she's kind of disenfranchised and disconnected from the world. She doesn't really want to have anything to do with crime fighting or being a good-doer, which is so against her nature because we know Dinah to be all heart. So it's really about her accepting her gift and accepting her power and that's what was so fascinating for me is to explore this woman who has such strength, but exploring someone who doesn't want to own her power."

Already, elements of the Birds of Prey marketing are hinting at Dinah's comic-accurate past, from her role as a professional singer to her fishnets and blue and yellow color scheme. A split second of the trailer also appeared to allude to her iconic Canary Cry, the supersonic scream that she has in the comics.

While versions of Black Canary have made their way into animation and live-action television, such as Smallville and Arrow, Birds of Prey will mark her big-screen debut (outside of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in The LEGO Batman Movie). With Dinah being just one of several beloved characters that the film is introducing to the big screen, the creative team had a unique approach.

"It's always fun introducing audiences to a new character," Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson told ComicBook.com last year. "It's great doing a deep dive into all the different characters, doing my research on the characters collectively bit also individually and getting to know them a bit more, and then feeling free to go off-leash a little bit and do something new and different and bring them to screen in a way that felt right alongside Harley."

Are you excited to see Jurnee Smollett-Bell's take on Black Canary in Birds of Prey? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Joker is in theaters now. Upcoming DC movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.