Birds Of Prey Trailer Breakdown: Harley Quinn, Hyenas, And Huntress, Oh My!
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The first trailer for Harley Quinn's return to the big screen has arrived
Joker isn't the only Batman villain getting a big breakout movie. Harley Quinn, the Clown Queen of Crime herself, is officially striking it out on her own with Birds of Prey, and the first trailer for her neon-soaked, ultra-violent fever dream has finally arrived. In it, we get an up close and personal look not just at Harley (who is blessedly free of the Joker this time around) but of her entire new crew. The team is made up of Helena Bertinelli, aka Huntress, Dinah Lance aka Black Canary, Cassandra Cain aka Batgirl or Orphan, and GCPD officer Renee Montoya. It may not be a Birds of Prey lineup consistent with the tradition set forth in the comics, but it's certainly a killer crew.
They'll be facing off against the devilishly dangerous Roman Sionis aka Black Mask, and his murderous crony Victor Zsasz--though we can't quite be sure exactly what it is that Harley's done to get on their bad side. But, knowing Harley, it was probably something completely absurd.
Take a closer look as we go through the trailer here, scene by scene, to pull out as many details as possible about the upcoming movie--and uncover a few fun surprises a long the way.
Birds of Prey will hit theaters on February 7, 2020.
Harley and Cassandra
The opening shot of the trailer features Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) walking down the middle of the street. No one is around and no one is driving on the road. Quinn explains in voice over what a Harlequin is and that person's role.
Praying
In the comics, Helena Bertinelli is a devout Catholic who frequently wears or carries a rosary with her, even during her more violent vigilante sprees. It seems like that aspect of the character is getting the big-screen treatment, as far as we can tell here with this scene of Helena praying at an altar.
An important location
Dinah is on stage on this very distinct-looking venue featuring two hands with eyes between the middle and ring fingers. This is a set piece you will see a lot throughout the trailer. As it goes on, more is revealed about this room and its importance. For now, though, we know that Dinah's got a gig and the club seems to be very important to Roman Sionis--maybe it functions as a base for his False Face Society, given the face-like motif of the decor.
Harley and Dinah
Harley is having a drink at the bar, sitting next to Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), also known as Black Canary. Harley is continuing her speech about harlequins and says, "It's nothing without a master. And no one gives two s***s who we are, beyond that." It's pretty obvious that something between Suicide Squad and this film happened to Harley Quinn. The character has lost a bit of herself, as she's not as jovial as she once was.
Bye bye Mista J
Harley and Joker have broken up. She's now on her own. And as she briefly discusses moving on in voice over, we get hero shots of the main cast of the film.
Black Canary
We see Black Canary on that stage from earlier, singing. Of course, she has her superpowers here, as we see liquid in a glass shaking as she sings. Canary has the ability to use her vocals as weapons. Her sonic attacks can become extremely powerful, even shattering metal.
Renee Montoya
We see Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) holding a box under her arm and walking while police officers applaud. Montoya is a Gotham City police officer who leaves the force after becoming fed-up with the corruption within the system.
Huntress
We briefly see Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), also known as Huntress on her motorcycle, with her patented crossbow. She's a vigilante taking down the Gotham crime syndicate.
Roman Sionis
Gotham crime lord Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor), also known as Black Mask, has some people hanging upside down in a warehouse. And of course, seeing as he's a leader of a mob in the city, he has his henchmen kill them off. While Sionis isn't wearing his iconic mask, the white suit and black gloves give the character away, as that's what he wore in the comics.
This is the best
Many fans were wondering if Harley Quinn would have her pet hyenas in a live-action movie, since it's been a large part of the character since her first appearances in Batman: The Animated Series. Well, the Birds of Prey movie will have at least one of them, as Harley jumps for joy while dealing with what seems to be a shady exotic animal dealer.
Mr. Zsasz
We see Sionis talking to Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina). Traditionally, Zsasz is more of a psychotic serial killer than henchman, but Fox's TV series Gotham made him more of a Number 2 role in the city's crime syndicate. In Birds of Prey, it looks as though he'll be playing that role again, working for Sionis. His look may be different here, but you can still see his trademark tally scars.
The mask
We never actually see Roman Sionis don his trademark black mask (get it, like his codename?) in the trailer but we do get a nice shot here in the trailer hinting at it. Notice the masked figure on the wall behind Sionis as he has his meltdown? That's what we call symbolism--and maybe, depending on how things go for him through the rest of the movie--foreshadowing.
Trouble in the club
It seems like Harley is getting in trouble at the same club we saw Dinah perform in, so it definitely has something to do with Sionis's criminal empire and whatever vendetta he has against her.
Make 'em laugh
The next sequence is unusual. It's difficult to tell if Harley is actually giving a very jazz-flavored performance on stage or if she's having some sort of drug-induced (or just Harley induced, you know how she can be) fever dream.
Home sweet home
By the look of things, the Birds of Prey are going to co-opt a traditional Joker location--an abandoned funhouse--as their base of operations, temporarily or otherwise.
Meet the Birds
The Birds of Prey line up for the movie may not actually resemble the comic book team, but it's certainly comprised of some of DC's all time best Gotham-based heroes (and anti-heroes.) Here we see our first look at the complete lineup: Renee Montoya, Helena Bertinelli, Cass Cain, Harley, and Dinah Lance.
A closer look at those scars
Zsasz's tally mark scars are a lot less organized here than they usually are--in fact, they might not even be tally marks at all. They could just be incidental, poorly healed cuts. But either way, he's definitely not someone you'd want to mess with, or meet in a dark alley any time soon.
Get ready for some violence
In case you needed a reminder: Birds of Prey is going to be a pretty violent movie. We even get a shot of Harley gleefully snapping a man's leg to really drive that home.
Prison break?
It's difficult to tell exactly what Harley is after as she pulls off some sort of prison break. She's definitely in some sort of disguise, and she's not trying to kill anyone--the shotgun she's firing is shooting one of those riot-quelling bean bags--but that doesn't mean the entire process isn't extravagantly over the top. Who or what is she after and why?
Full title reveal
The full title of the movie is Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. That's a mouthful, but at least it's interesting.
One last comedic moment
Before the trailer ends, Harley Quinn hands a lit stick of dynamite to Cassandra Cain to throw out the window. While humor isn't a huge part of this trailer, it's nice to see it does have its place in the movie.