If there’s been one abundantly clear thing about Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) since the first trailer dropped, it’s that this film is playing by its own rules. Everything from the aesthetic to the soundtrack sets it apart from earlier entries to the DCEU, including the film that first introduced Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad.

Much of the unique feel of the production is due to Cathy Yan’s vision for Gotham and the characters who inhabit it. The director sat down with Screen Rant in advance of the movie’s February 7 release to discuss how she envisioned the make-up of the team’s fighting styles, ground-level population, and villain personalities.

Amazing job on this film. I can’t recommend it enough. It was badass, for sure. First and foremost, I talked to the producers on this, and they said that you had this very well thought out; exactly what you wanted to do. Can you walk me through a little bit of what your look for Birds of Prey was going to be and how it all came together?

I love the choice of characters because, especially in the fight sequences, you have Renee Montoya who is more of a brawler; Huntress is more like John Wick. Then you’ve got Harley, who’s full of weapons and trickery, and Black Canary who uses a lot of kicks. Can you talk to me about the action sequences and how that all played into the characters and informed the characters?

Cathy Yan: Sure. A lot of it was inspired by Harley, and this idea [that] we wanted to create a new type of Gotham that felt more on the ground instead of in these high towers in the center of power, per se. And I wanted it to feel very gritty and layered and textured and tactile, but also colorful and full of little details.

Because I think it’s a world where the system doesn’t really work. It’s pretty broken. Obviously, crime has infested the city; there’s plenty of corruption. But at the same time, there’s such a hope and will to live, and people are still having a good time and partying. And they’re just sort of making do with the way it is.

And that was kind of pulled from like, I think, how New York felt in the 70s and the 80s, where it’s just kind of full on anarchy. But then there’s so much creativity, and you hear about these wild stories and these crazy characters. So, that was kind of the basis for the world of Gotham, and we purposely wanted to make it feel different and kind of on the fringe, almost like in the outer boroughs.

You said that this is a very street level version of Gotham, with street level heroes for the most part. Is this a part of DC that you’d like to explore further? Or would you like to kind of move outside that realm into another realm of DC? 

Cathy Yan: Sure. Very early on, we developed individual styles for each character that kind of matched both their background, what they’re about, but also their attitude. And sometimes it was just, for example with Rosie Perez, she freakin loves boxing. She’s called the first lady of boxing. And so, of course, we were like, “Yeah, we’re gonna teach her boxing.” And it made sense, as a police woman, that she would have learned that skill.

We definitely tried to make sure that they all had different individual styles, so that when they do finally come together, they’re such a great team. They all have a different strength.

This obviously is very ground level. Chris told me something, that he did so many different takes of his character. And I like the bounciness, because usually Zsasz is written as kind of a straight-up serial killer. Can you talk to me about the bounciness, and how you kind of went with that? And the same thing with Ewan, so terrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Cathy Yan: I love this part of DC. I love Gotham, and I think what I loved about Gotham always was that these characters felt real and grounded and very mischievous and dark. I prefer, I think, this kind of thing over flying capes.

Outside of Harley, which character would you like to explore further?

Cathy Yan: Yeah, I mean, that’s how I love to work with the actors actually - to kind of give them space to explore and improv. They’re always motivated by the characters, and we talk a lot about that and what the scene is about. But then on the day, we actually have a lot of fun.

And so, every take was pretty different. And that’s kind of like how I like to work, because honestly you just need one. You just need one good take, or you need one little moment or detail. I know a lot of filmmakers I admire kind of work that way, and I was really happy that I was able to do that on this movie too.

And also, the voice of Harley throughout this movie. How hard is it translating that from the page to the screen?

Cathy Yan: Oh, gosh. I think all of them are super interesting. Really, I do. I think so. I guess, if I had to pick one - just because I think she’s such an interesting mystery in the movie - Huntress. And how she opens up at the end, so it’d be really nice to play with that more.

More: Margot Robbie, Chris Messina, and Ella Basco Birds of Prey Interview

Cathy Yan: Yeah, well, it’s pretty easy when you’ve got Margot Robbie doing it.

I think it allowed us to just play around with style and breaking the fourth wall. And even the way the story is told, which is completely haphazardly because that’s how Harley would tell it.

  • Birds of Prey Release Date: 2020-02-07 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25 The Batman Release Date: 2022-03-04 Suicide Squad 2 Release Date: 2021-08-06 Black Adam Release Date: 2022-10-21 Shazam! The Fury of the Gods Release Date: 2023-03-17 Super Pets Release Date: 2022-07-29 The Flash Movie Release Date: 2023-06-23 Aquaman 2 Release Date: 2023-12-25