DC's Harley Quinn Spin-Off Birds Of Prey Has A Release Date

While the future of the connected DC universe isn't clear, the studio isn't slowing its movie production. The standalone Joker movie is currently shooting in New York and now the Harley Quinn spin-off film Birds of Prey has been given an official release date. (Update: Our Birds of Prey review, which is now live, has high praise for the "top-tier action" and "fantastic ensemble cast.")

As reported by Variety, Birds of Prey will hit theaters on February 7, 2020. The movie is set to focus on a team of supervillains, which the site states will include Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya. While Robbie is the only confirmed cast member, there have been recent reports that actresses under consideration include Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beauty and the Beast), Jurnee Smolett-Bell (Underground), Margaret Qualley (Death Note), and Cristin Milioti (Black Mirror).

Birds of Prey has been in development for several years. Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson was hired to write the movie back in September 2016, while indie filmmaker Cathy Yan was announced as director in April this year. It is expected to start production early next year.

More recently, Robbie spoke about her plans for the movie, and described it as a "R-rated girl gang film." She also explained why it was important that Harley's second movie wasn't a solo film. "Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film," she said. "She's got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn't seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it."

Suicide Squad 2 is also in development, but it does not have a release date. In addition, a Harley Quinn and Joker movie is in the works, but again, it is unknown when we'll see that. In related news, it was reported earlier this month that Superman star Henry Cavill will no longer play the character in the DC Universe, although Cavill himself was somewhat ambiguous on the matter.