With directors leaving The Flash every couple of weeks, early rumblings suggesting disappointment from Wonder Woman, and Ben Affleck departing The Batman's director's chair, things at DC and Warner Bros look very chaotic right now.
Harley Quinn has always been known to thrive in chaos, though, and the Joker's deranged other half seems to be doing just that at the moment. While other characters' films are struggling to get off the ground, Harley's prominence in the DC plans has risen exponentially.
Margot Robbie's clown-obsessed criminal will team up with iconic female baddies in Gotham City Sirens, a film that's on the fast track while other DC projects gestate in development hell. It's a testament to Robbie's performance in Suicide Squad that she's branching into her own vehicle here, whereas the future plans for Jared Leto's Joker are far less clear.
Some talent from Suicide Squad will return, with a few fresh faces added to the mix, suggesting that this (like the major tonal shift of Justice League) is another attempt from DC to correct course and get their universe on track.
Here's everything you need to know...
8. David Ayer Is Back…
Despite the divisive nature of Suicide Squad, its writer-director David Ayer hasn't been thrown out by Warners and DC. The helmsman of Fury and End Of Watch will return to the DCEU to direct Gotham City Sirens, re-teaming with Robbie after shooting her big screen Harley Quinn debut.
Many loathed Suicide Squad, Ayer himself on Twitter recently, posted a very reflective monologue about the lessons he's learned from his first DC movie. If he could make Suicide Squad again, Ayer says he'd "engineer a more grounded story" and "give the characters the stories and plots they deserve next time. Real talk."
With any luck, Ayer will take these lessons on board and take care to deliver the best movie he can with Gotham City Sirens. But it seems the studio doesn't have infinite faith in him..
7. … But He's Not Writing The Script
Warners are willing to let Ayer behind the camera on another DC film, but they don't want him writing the script this time.
Instead of Ayer, Geneva Robertson-Dworet has been tasked with hashing out the script for Gotham City Sirens. She's a hot talent in Hollywood at the moment, who's also been tasked with writing the Tomb Raider reboot and Robert Downey Jnr's Sherlock Holmes 3. This is an unprecedented number of blockbusters for a writer to have on their plate at once; especially a writer who hasn't had a film in cinemas yet.
But that's what Robertson-Dworet is: a brand new writer on the scene that all the studios are fighting over. Hopefully that means she's got epic skills to bring to the table, and some fresh ideas to liven up the DCEU.
6. Margot Robbie Is Stepping Up To Exec Producer
Following a recent trend (Daniel Craig did it with Spectre and Ben Affleck is doing it now on The Batman), Margot Robbie won't just be the star of Gotham City Sirens - she'll also be involved behind the scenes as an executive producer.
Even though Ayer's Suicide Squad script was all over the place, it was clear in the finished film that Robbie really understood the character of Harley Quinn. As pre-transformation Harleen she was nervous and shy, and as the fully-fledged supervillain Harley she darted between comedic charm, outright nuttiness and pure, crazy love for Mr J.
It's hard to imagine anyone else playing the character on screen after witnessing Robbie's take. And her eye for Harley's idiosyncrasies will surely come in handy during production: part of her job could be ensuring that everyone stays on the same page, sticking to one vision for the character. That kind of focus was missing last time around, and could make all the different here.
5. It's Not The First Harley Script They've Worked On
Before settling on the Gotham City Sirens branding, DC had Christina Hodson (another up-and-coming female writer) working on a script entitled Birds Of Prey. According to The Wrap, it would've featured Harley alongside "multiple female heroes." Rumours inspired by comics suggested that Batgirl, Black Canary, Huntress and Katana could've all appeared.
It remains to be seen whether any ideas from Birds Of Prey will bleed into Gotham City Sirens. It would certainly be cool to see rival female factions on the big screen - iconic DC heroes and villains, with a conflicted Harley caught the middle. After saving the world in Suicide Squad, is there part of her that would rather help people than hurt them?
For now, the plot of the movie is a mystery, but it's probably wise to expect a female hero or two among the baddies...
4. The Joker And Batman Aren’t Confirmed
As it stands, the only actor listed on Gotham City Sirens' IMDb page is Margot Robbie herself.
Jared Leto's Joker has not been confirmed yet, but seems likely to show up in some capacity, even if it's just to explain why Harley is branching out on her own rather than hanging out with him after Suicide Squad. Some fans wanted more Leto last time, and others would've been happy if he was removed altogether - it'll be interesting to see how the powers-that-be respond to that.
Ben Affleck's Batman isn't attached yet, either. It would be odd for a film with Gotham in the title not to feature the city's most famous resident, but Batfleck is busy writing, starring in and producing his own DC film at the moment. Would he even have time to shoot a cameo?
3. Megan Fox Is Rumoured For Poison Ivy...
Shortly after Gotham City Sirens was announced, Bleeding Cool posted a rumour: Megan Fox, they reckon, is circling the role of Poison Ivy. They had reasons to back it up, too. Apparently, Fox is a long-time comic book fan, which is why she previously signed on for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jonah Hex and Robot Chicken (in which she voices Lois Lane) and that the website had "been shown hard evidence that [Fox] has ordered pre-52 Harley Quinn comics that feature Poison Ivy, sent to her Warner Studios address."
Nobody at Warners responded to the rumour, though, so it remains just that for the time being.
There's no denying that Fox looks the part. And she's even played evil characters before, giving one of her best performances in the murderous lead role in Jennifer's Body. Red hair and green clothes is all she needs at this point.
2. … And Haley Bennett Could Be Catwoman
2016 was a big year of Haley Bennett - she sizzled in The Girl On The Train and provided the emotional core to The Magnificent Seven. But 2017 could be even bigger for her, with rumours persisting that her casting as Catwoman is soon to be confirmed.
Bennett has been teasing something along these lines on her Instagram account. She literally posted a picture of Catwoman, followed by evidence that she's had her hair cut short. Then she snapped a seafood dinner, and added the caption "Meow". And after that came a selfie, showing Bennett in a slinky all-black outfit. She's toying with DC fans at this point.
Margot Robbie, Megan Fox and Haley Bennett would make for a star-studded ensemble, that's for sure. Of course, it's worth reiterating that neither Fox or Bennett's casting is officially confirmed yet... but still, these are exciting times.
1. It Could Get Hot And Heavy
A romance between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy was brewing in the comics for ages (they lived together for a time, and the hints at a sexual relationship were fairly blatant), before DC's Twitter account confirmed in 2015 that "they are girlfriends without the jealousy or monogamy."
A year later, the comics acted on the innuendo and actually showed them being intimate. Finally, the iconic female villains locked lips in Bombshells issue #46.
"There are better things to do in the moonlight than dance", Harley said before the snog, riffing on Jack Nicholson's famous line from the 1989 Batman film. But will the moviemakers return the favour now, and refer to this relationship on the big screen? Could Harley and Ivy by the DCEU's first non-straight couple?
Gotham City Sirens would be the prime opportunity to explore this, given its focus on female characters and Harley branching out. Also, it's impossible to deny that some romance between sexy super-villains would get some bums on seats...
What do you want to see in Gotham City Sirens? Let us know in the comments below...
No comments:
Post a Comment