DC’s Birds of Prey Adds Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell

Movies News Birds of Prey
DC’s Birds of Prey Adds Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell

10 Cloverfield Lane standout Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Underground’s Jurnee Smollett-Bell have been added to the cast of DC’s Birds of Prey, opposite Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, per THR.

Before Winstead and Smollett-Bell landed their respective roles, possible candidates included the likes of “San Junipero” star Gugu Mbatha-Raw and The Leftovers’ Margaret Qualley, among others.

While Robbie reprises her Suicide Squad role as part of the forthcoming film’s titular female superhero team, Winstead and Smollett-Bell bring two new characters into the DC film universe. Winstead will play Huntress, a longtime Batman character who hasn’t appeared in any of the franchise’s films to date. Meanwhile, Smollett-Bell has been cast as street fighter Black Canary, which brings a non-white actor into a role that’s historically been portrayed as white in the comics.

The forthcoming film also brings the talents of Cathy Yan, who is set to become the first Asian female director to helm a project for the franchise.

Fans were already excited by the news of a spin-off for Robbie’s Harley Quinn, a strong highlight in the otherwise near-unwatchable Suicide Squad, and this latest casting update has only added to the anticipation.

Winstead just wrapped a role opposite Will Smith in Ang Lee’s Gemini Man, out next October, while also next year, Smollett-Bell stars in HBO’s Jordan Peele-produced series Lovecraft Country.

Warner Bros. and DC are set to unleash Birds of Prey on Feb. 7, 2020.

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