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'Birds of Prey': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about Harley Quinn's new movie

Based on Jordan B Gorfinkel and Chuck Dixon's comic of the same name, the movie sees Harley Quinn team up with a bunch of anti-heroes to save a young girl from an evil crime lord

While 'Shazam' continues its good run at the Box Office,  'Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn' has wrapped up filming.  A recent Instagram post from LuckyChap Production company also gave us a glimpse of the official logo of the movie. The Margot Robbie-starrer will be the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe. In addition, 'Birds of Prey' is expected to be the first theatrically released R-rated DCEU film.

Robbie had pitched the film to Warner Bros. in 2015 as "an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because she felt, "Harley needs friends. Harley loves interacting with people, so don’t ever make her do a standalone film".

Release date

The movie is slated to release on February 7, 2020.

Plot

Since the events of 'Suicide Squad,' Batman has disappeared from Gotham leaving it vulnerable to crime, while Harley Quinn  has moved away from the Joker. She teams up with Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to protect Cassandra Cain from Gotham City crime lord Black Mask.

Cast

The movie already had Margot Robbie attached as its star early on and is also expected to appear as Harley Quinn in a Joker and Harley Quinn team-up film at some point in the future, 'Suicide Squad 2'  (which now appears to be less of a priority for the studio than it once appeared to be), and potentially a solo Harley movie, as well. The movie also sees Mary Elizabeth Winstead play Helena Bertinelli aka The Huntress.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell will essay the role of Black Canary, while Rosie Perez takes on the role of  Gotham City Police Department detective, Renee Montoya. The movie also shows Ewan McGregor as the antagonist, Black Mask. Central to the movie's plot will be the character of Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco).

The cast also includes Steven Williams ('The Chi'), Derek Wilson ('Future Man', 'Preacher'), Dana Lee, Francois Chau, and Matthew Willig ('The Ballad of Buster Scruggs').

Director/Writer:

In an instance of the first Asian women helming a film, Cathy Yan ('Dead Pigs') has directed 'Birds of Prey' while Christina Hodson of the 'Bumblebee' fame wrote the script based on the comic 'Birds of Prey' by Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Chuck Dixon.

First Look:

The 20-second clip introduces the characters and ends with a message saying 'See you soon.' 

The first poster for the movie was released September 17 and it is absolutely mind-blowing. Margot Robbie's Harley is front and center on the poster with the other characters flying around her head like cartoon birds. The trippy feel of the poster is highlighted by the words "Mind Over Mayhem" written across Robbie's neck.

Logo:

The logo is written with a bold font with and uses weapon silhouettes to create several of the letters, while the remaining part of the title, 'And the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn' is scribbled in a bright shade of pink.

Trailers:

On October 1, the official trailer for 'Birds of Prey' was released, featuring Harley Quinn who is moving on from the Joker, seeking emancipation. However, she's not the only one seeking emancipation. The trailer features 'Birds of Prey', Black Mask, Victor Zsasz, and mayhem galore.

On January 7, the 'Birds of Prey' Twitter page released a teaser, featuring more mayhem, and a line from the trailer: "I wanted a fresh start. Turns out, I wasn't the only dame in Gotham seeking emancipation."

The film's official Twitter account shared the new TV spot on January 13 (which you can check out here) and it features some new, never-before-seen footage. The teaser reveals that Black Mask is trying to recover a precious diamond from the Birds of Prey, possibly after it was stolen by Cassandra Cain and it also includes new footage of Renee Montoya and Black Canary.

Watch this space for more updates on 'Birds of Prey'.