Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: Cathy Yan, entertainment, film, harley quinn, margot robbie, Warner Bros
Cathy Yan to Helm Margot Robbie's Next Turn as Harley Quinn
This is an interesting bit of news mixed with a dash of speculation. Deadline is reporting that Cathy Yan has been tapped by Warner Bros to direct an untitled girl gang movie that they're saying is likely to be lead by Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). The deal is still being worked out, but this would make Yan the first female Asian director to helm a superhero film. This is a pretty bold move by the studio as Yan has only one indie film to her credit, Dead Pigs. But it's said that her presentation for Birds of Prey was exceptional and Robbie has been insisting that the film be directed by a woman.
As you might've guessed from the above, the film is being based on Birds of Prey, a team that usually consists of Black Canary, Huntress and Barbara Gordon aka Batgirl/Oracle among other female heroes. No word on which of those character will appear alongside Harley Quinn nor if Quinn will be the villain for the film or be on the hero side. The script was written by Christina Hodson who has also written the Transformers solo film, Bumblebee and just got picked up to write the Batgirl movie.
Production is expected to start by early next year, once Robbie is finished with the Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Other films that have been talked about with Robbie appearing as Harley Quinn continue in production. Gavin O'Connor is set to direct Suicide Squad 2 while Harley Quinn vs The Joker and Gotham City Sirens are believed to be further down the pipeline.
Yan has a fascinating background as a former Wall Street Journal reporter who worked New York, Hong Kong and Beijing, being one of the youngest reporters to get multiple stories on the front page. She wrote and directed a handful of short films before beginning on her first feature, Dead Pigs.