Black Canary: Jurnee Smollett Teases Return to DC Role

The DC Films world feels like it’s often in a state of flux, with projects surrounding new and familiar characters being brought to fruition. Among them is a Black Canary solo movie, which would see Jurnee Smollett reprise her role as Dinah Lance / Black Canary from 2020’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). While the film was originally announced as an HBO Max exclusive, recent updates regarding DC’s plans following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger have made fans wonder what the project’s future holds — but a new update seems pretty promising. A recent profile from The New York Times, in anticipation of Smollett’s role in Netflix’s Spiderheard, outlined the actress’ upcoming projects — and revealed that “she’s also preparing to reprise her role as Black Canary.”

“I’m very excited about the slate of films we have coming down the pipeline,” Smollett revealed in the article. “They’re dream roles.”

The profile further mentioned the Black Canary movie, which is being written by Misha Green, Smollett’s previous collaborator on Lovecraft Country and Underground. The pair had previously addressed the possibility of working on a Black Canary solo project — as well as bonding over the character while playing the hit video game Injustice 2.

“Jurnee shows up on the day, and she has thought about 900 different ways to approach her character,” Green said of Smollett’s acting preparation.

If rumors are any indication, there’s also a chance that we might see Smollett’s Dinah onscreen again prior to the Black Canary film’s debut, with a series of Easter eggs and rumors pointing to her being referenced in the upcoming Batgirl movie.

“It’s no secret how much I love Black Canary. It’s a dream, character and was a dream to play her,” Smollett explained in a 2020 interview. “If [the] dynamics fell in the right way, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat, and Lord knows, I follow Misha wherever she leads me.”

“I mean, you can’t help but imagine it a little bit… like, ‘What would I do with a Black Canary show?’” Green added. “It’d be exciting, I know that.”

“I just would just do the ‘canary scream’ to win all the time, which would frustrate [Jurnee],” Green said of playing Injustice 2 with her. “So, it was like, ‘It’s kind of kismet and funny that you’re now Black Canary, because I was using that character to beat you with this game.’”

What do you think of the latest update surrounding the Black Canary solo movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.