It’s been rumored for weeks, but now it’s confirmed — Ewan McGregor will be the villain haunting the titular girl group in the upcoming Warner Bros./DC film, “Birds of Prey.”
Deadline has confirmed that McGregor will play the villain known as Black Mask in the film. For those not familiar with deep cut Batman lore, Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, is a ruthless crime lord in Gotham City. He is obsessed with masks, thus the moniker, and is especially brutal and sadistic as he revels in torturing his victims. And thanks to the apparent R-rating, perhaps we’ll see just how gruesome McGregor is willing to go as the villain.
McGregor joins Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), and Rosie Perez (Detective Renee Montoya) in the cast. The film is written by “Bumblebee” scribe Christina Hodson. Indie director Cathy Yan, coming off her recent success with “Dead Pigs,” is helming the film, making her official leap into big-budget filmmaking.
READ MORE: The DC Films Universe: All The Movies Coming Soon & In Development
“Birds of Prey” is one of many DC films in development, with several of those featuring Robbie’s Harley Quinn character. The film will be the first time fans have seen Harley Quinn since she stole the show in “Suicide Squad.” After “Birds of Prey,” it’s expected that Robbie will take the Harley role for the third time in James Gunn’s upcoming “Suicide Squad 2.”
READ MORE: James Gunn’s ‘Suicide Squad 2’ Won’t Be A Sequel And Will Instead Be A “Brand-New Take”
Still to be cast is an actress to play the hero Cassandra Cain. Cain is a young woman that would go on to become the hero Batgirl, however, in recent comics, she has taken the superhero name Orphan. We’ll see who Yan and Company choose for this role in the coming weeks.
“Birds of Prey” is expected to begin production in early 2019 and is scheduled to hit theaters on February 7, 2020.
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