The next Birds of Prey trailer is now out, and it thankfully puts one of the bigger “controversies” about the film to rest. That would the role of Ewan McGregor, who is bringing the role of Roman Sionis / Black Mask to life in live-action. Every piece of promotional material for Birds of Prey so far (trailers, TV spots, posters, images) has depicted Black Mask as a flamboyantly-dressed Nightclub owner and psychotic gangster – but there’s been one big element missing: the actual black skull mask that is Black Mask’s namesake. However, with the release of Birds of Prey trailer 2, we now have a look at Black Mask in his true, comics-accurate costume!
Check out the image of Ewan McGregor becoming Black Mask, below!
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As you can see, the Black Mask skull mask is about as accurate to its DC Comics origins as fans could want – with the usual caveat about whether or not it should have eye-holes, white eyes, etc. This should be a huge sigh of relief for fans who were still nervous that McGregor (a performer they trust) would be given a version of Black Mask that would be more along the lines of Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman, or Jared Leto’s Joker in Suicide Squad. That is to say: a major departure from the source material that angered more fans than it impressed.
The Black Mask reveals in the full Birds of Prey trailer didn’t end with just this shot of the mask. Check below for a shot of McGregor in his full-fledged Black Mask costume – the one that was revealed in toy form, mere hours earlier:
There’s still so much we don’t know about Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask in Birds of Prey, but the combination of trailers and rumors have painted an interesting picture. The version of Sionis who appears in the film seems to be significantly unbalanced, possibly even schizophrenic. While he appears to be a flamboyant playboy and nightclub guy, other scenes have hinted as Black Mask doing some pretty sadistic things – such as slitting the throats of victims hung upside down like cattle, while wearing some creepy-looking black gloves. There’s also the deeper rumor about a major change to Batman lore via a relationship between Black Mask and his serial killer henchman, Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina).
While that’s totally unconfirmed at this point, it would make total sense if the third act of Birds of Prey saw Roman go full “Black Mask” to get revenge on Harley and her new teammates, for talking out Zsasz at the end of Act Two. We’re just speculating, but it seems like a pretty safe educated guess.
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. The Flash is set to go into production in 2021.
