Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey project has been garnering some serious press and building a pretty rabid fanbase with Margot Robbie as its lead and some interesting casting choices—most recently the news that Ella Jay Basco would be playing Cassandra Cain! But today the internet has been thrown into chaos by the reveal of the full title of the film courtesy of a post by Robbie on Instagram, and a very swift confirmation of its legitimacy by The Hollywood Reporter. In case you haven’t seen the post yet we’ve included it below, and for those of you who can’t even wait that long the title is… Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.
Though we’re sure it will be loosely based on the comics (Harley Quinn was never in the Birds of Prey team, but she was in the book as part of another team: the Secret Six), it makes sense that the filmmakers would want to remove Harley from the depressingly toxic relationship with the Joker that she’s most known for, and rid fans of any Ed Hardy-tinged memories of Suicide Squad. In fact, the emancipation of Harley from the Crown Prince of Crime has been a fan favorite part of the newer comic book arcs.Still, the title seems like an odd choice for a film that has recently cast such brilliant actresses as Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Rosie Perez. To center on Quinn seems to establish that the roster of women—and specifically women of color—that so many were excited to see on screen will likely be playing second fiddle to Robbie’s central anti-hero.Whatever way you look at it, the title makes a statement, even if that statement is just that writer Christina Hodson really likes Mariah Carey! Do you like the new moniker? Let us know below!
Images: Warner Bros., Instagram
