Birds of Prey Concept Art Shows Alternate Designs for Black Mask

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) flew into theaters this past weekend, introducing audiences to an array of characters from the DC Comics mythos. In addition to the film's titular heroines, the film brought about the big-screen debut of Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). Those who have seen Birds of Prey certainly know how terrifying Sionis can be, especially once he dons the titular Black Mask in the film's third act. Thanks to a new post from concept artist Kyle Brown, we know just how different that Black Mask could have look. Brown recently shared multiple pieces of concept art that reveal alternate designs for the mask, some of which interpret the face guard in completely different ways. Brown's ArtStation profile shows off more of them, including some that only partially cover Sionis' face.

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I had a great opportunity to work up designs for the final look of Black Mask for the new Birds of Prey film from DC. The goal was to tow the line between the source material and “high fashion “ that was an influence in the whole film. This is just part 1. I did a ton of designs on this and I’ll be dropping more soon! Sound off- who checked out Birds of Prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn? #dc #dccomics #harleyquinn #birdsofprey #blackmask #comicbookmovies #conceptart #conceptdesign #costume #costumedesign #costumeillustrator #3d #propdesign #kylebrowndesign #aaronsimscreative

A post shared by Kylebrowndesign (@kylebrowndesign) on Feb 10, 2020 at 1:01pm PST

"He has to be in absolute control. He's insane when he's not in control," McGregor explained of his character in a recent interview. "We only see him in his club, in his car, in his apartment--or at the end when he's running around. But really I feel like we only ever see him in places he controls. And then Harley comes into this world and she's uncontrollable. It drives him mad. He hates it."

"It plays into the exploration of misogyny in the film," McGregor continued. "He's only ever put up with Harley because she was Joker's girlfriend. So that was the only reason he ever put up with her, because [Joker] was all-powerful. But as soon as [Roman] realizes that Harley's man is out of the picture, she becomes a problem. That makes him a true misogynist. Harley is trying to find her freedom--the emancipation of Harley Quinn, right? She's trying to find her voice. She's not getting her power from her partner anymore."

Birds of Prey also stars Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, and Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz.

What do you think of these alternate designs for Birds of Prey's Black Mask? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will be released on February 7th. Other upcoming DC movies include 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.