One Birds of Prey Scene Almost Didn’t Make It Into The Movie

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) director Cathy Yan reveals that one particular scene in the film almost didn’t make the cut. Warner Bros.’ latest comic book movie brought together some of DC’s toughest women for a fight against Ewan McGregor’s Roman Sionis/Black Mask. With an R-rating, the film has its gruesome moments, but there’s one particular moment they had to fight to be included in the final version of the movie.

Starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Birds of Prey is only her second big screen appearance since 2016’s Suicide Squad. The anti-hero is joined by Cassndra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), Huntress/Helena Bertinelli (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dinah Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bett), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) as they team up against Black Mask and his right hand-man, Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina). In the end, the team succeed in defeating the villainous duo, but not before Sionis effectively proved himself as one of the most dangerous men in Gotham City.

The owner of a pub in the metropolis, Sionis is known for being mercurial, potentially brought by his personal insecurity. At one point in the film, he’s ticked off by a laugh from one of his patrons. Assuming that he’s being ridiculed, he confronts the woman and orders her to stand on a table and strip to humiliate her. Yan said in a recent interview with THR that this scene is one they needed to push to be included in Birds of Prey‘s theatrical cut, explaining its pivotal in both Sionis and Dinah’s respective arcs.

I’ll be honest: We had to fight to keep that scene because it was uncomfortable. It was risky, and we had to fight to keep it at all. There are cuts of the movie without it. I’m really glad that we kept it because I think it’s important. I think that a lot of people have been very impacted by that scene. I think it’s a huge turning point for Roman; it’s a huge turning point for Canary, and the way that we shot it was hopefully not about the sexual violence upon the woman. It was more about Roman, what he’s capable of and Canary seeing him for who he really is for the first time. Now, she can fully cut herself off from him, and I thought it was a really important scene. So, we fought for it.

Yan’s correct, the scene may be deemed too much for some, but Birds of Prey definitely had far more gruesome scenes that made its theatrical cut, so why shy away from this one? Aside from a major turning point in the story, it also effectively established just how petty Sionis can be. Fans already know he can be rash and illogical, but this particular scene was more straight-to-the-point. It’s also not as far-fetched as the face-peeling scene since it’s set in a public space, making it even more impactful. Aside from the key players in this sequence, the fact that no one dared to stand up against Sionis while he’s clearly harassing the woman is a great way to emphasize how much these people fear him.

The box office haul for Birds of Prey may not be what Yan and Warner Bros. wanted, but this is not a reflection of the film’s quality. It’s one of the best DCEU projects out there and definitely the most consistent throughout all three acts of the movie. Now that it’s out on VOD, those who enjoyed it can enjoy it at the comforts of their own homes, while those who skipped it when it was playing in theaters can now check it out.

Source: THR

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