Why A Black Canary Movie Is Happening Rather Than Birds of Prey 2

With a Black Canary film officially in development, it begs the question, why have Warner Bros. chosen to pursue this project over Birds of Prey 2? Jurnee Smollett will reprise her role as Dinah Lance after her successful debut in 2020’s Birds of Prey. The solo film will also reunite Smollett with her Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green, who is set to write the script.

Birds of Prey introduced Dinah as a nightclub singer working in Gotham City’s Black Mask Club, owned by the sadistic gangster Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). It’s there that Dinah met Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and became Roman’s driver before turning on him and working alongside Harley, Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez). The film was effectively an origin for the character, only teasing her powers, but effectively paves the way for Black Canary.

The last time audiences saw Dinah, she was forming a team of vigilantes with Huntress and Montoya. Many believed this served to set up a full-blown Birds of Prey sequel, but there is currently no development on that front. Rather, it makes sense to pursue Black Canary on HBO Max, capitalizing on one of the former film’s best-received characters. This allows time to dig deeper into at least one if not multiple members of the vigilante team, whereas Birds of Prey mostly focused on Harley, and did underperform at the box office.

Of all the new vigilantes established in Birds of Prey, Jurnee Smollett’s Black Canary holds the most potential. Her backstory with her mother was only given a brief reference, and the film could have further explored her working relationship with the underused Black Mask, although it’s unlikely McGregor’s villain will ever return. Dinah was just starting to come into her own, revealing her fighting skills and signature canary cry that suggest she probably could have carried the film without Harley Quinn’s involvement. Black Canary could dive into both Danah’s backstory and her present-day storyline while offering a better platform for returning characters like Huntress and Montoya, or the introduction of Green Arrow into the DCEU. Dinah’s wider DCEU history has since potentially been teased with The Suicide Squad‘s Savant (Michael Rooker). Birds of Prey was unable to do this as it was almost entirely fixated on Harley’s story, even prompting a mid-release name change to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.

The title change reflects how the film didn’t know how to juggle its characters, beholden to its famous protagonist who had never officially been part of the team in the comics. Birds of Prey was also considered a box office disappointment, struggling to break even, which would immediately halt any sequel discussion. This suggests Harley’s name alone wasn’t enough to attract mainstream interest, and the other characters were generally unknown to general audiences. However, replacing Harley with other DC characters in Birds of Prey 2 would risk alienating the film’s fans and leave any sequel without a significant marketing hook. While it’s still possible to make a low-budget follow-up for HBO Max, free of the normal pressure of theatre ticket sales, taking the time to flesh out Dinah in Black Canary is a smart move. Not only was her character well-received, but there is a call for more diverse comic book movies, and Smollett and Green can provide a fresh perspective on the genre.

Batgirl will also debut on HBO Max, providing the opportunity to create a sub-universe that gradually builds to a more faithful depiction of the Birds of Prey. HBO Max can allow lesser-known characters like Dinah to gain familiarity with the casual viewer. Other known DCEU characters could appear in Black Canary, but the film must deepen its hero, otherwise, another team-up film will fail without appropriate emotional attachment to its characters.

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