Birds of Prey Director on How the Film Portrays Femininity

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is set to hit theaters in just a matter of weeks, and fans are genuinely excited to see how the film comes together. The movie, which will feature an ensemble of some of DC’s most beloved female characters, already has quite a lot of hype to it, thanks to its unique sense of style and feminist approach. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Birds of Prey‘s cast and crew outlined what that will entail, beginning with the film’s narrator, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie).

“We wanted people to get a taste of what life could be like when you see it from Harley’s point of view,” Robbie, who also produces the film, explained. “It’s just this bright, poppy, heightened, fantastical world.”

“She’s very feminine in a very superficial way…At the same time, she’s such a badass,” director Cathy Yan added. “I liked that tension of it. It was exhilarating to create an unfiltered version of Harley Quinn.”

“I think sometimes we equate femininity with being polite,” Yan continued. “but that’s not the same thing.”

This feminist approach has been apparent throughout Birds‘ marketing thus far, with Harley’s newfound female friendship with Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). While general audiences might not know about the other Birds just yet, the complex ways they’re introduced on the big screen is expected to be a delight.

“It’s always fun introducing audiences to a new character,” the film’s screenwriter, Christina Hodson, told ComicBook.com in an interview in 2018. “It’s great doing a deep dive into 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 Birds of Prey? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Upcoming DC movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7th, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5th, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, Black Adam on December 22, 2021, Shazam! 2 on April 1, 2022, The Flash on July 1, 2022, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.