The Birds of Prey movie is reportedly targeting an early 2019 start date, possibly making it the next DC movie to film after Wonder Woman 1984. Warner Bros. has been slowly developing its shared cinematic universe of DC Comics heroes ever since Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel debuted in 2013. The universe greatly expanded in 2016 with the releases of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. But, despite these films being financially successful enough, they were divisive. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman was the first movie in this universe to be a financial and critical success, and the director is already back at work on the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is officially moving forward with two other DC Comics movies: James Wan’s Aquaman and David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! The former will hit theaters later this year, while the latter and Wonder Woman 1984 will debut in 2019. Beyond those three films, Warner Bros. has a plethora of DC properties in development, but it’s unclear which will move forward next. Though the studio may shed some light on their plans for the DC movie universe during SDCC this year, a new report could confirm which project will film after Wonder Woman 1984.

DiscussingFilm reports Warner Bros. is eyeing a January 2019 start date for Birds of Prey, which has Cathy Yan attached to direct a script by Christina Hodson. Flickering Myth reports that Birds of Prey star Margot Robbie confirmed to the January 2019 start date. Further, Omega Underground reports the studio has been looking at locations for Birds of Prey, specifically in Los Angeles, California as well as Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. This latest report backs up previous rumors of Birds of Prey filming in 2019, though it hadn’t been specified when exactly next year the female team-up would begin production. With Wonder Woman 1984 filming now and nothing else officially scheduled for the rest of 2018, Birds of Prey may be the next DC project to enter production.

Given what we know about Warner Bros’ priorities when it comes to their DC movie universe, the timeline for Birds of Prey makes sense. Bird of Prey gained a great deal of momentum when Yan was brought on as a director. Plus, considering how well received Robbie’s Harley Quinn was from Suicide Squad, and the success of Jenkins’ female-headlined superhero movie (not to mention Gal Gadot’s Diana was a highlight of both Batman V Superman and Justice League), a female team-up like Birds of Prey combines some of the franchise’s most successful aspects. Further, with Birds of Prey also including Batgirl, the movie could be a launchpad for another, potentially very lucrative, solo hero franchise.

Still, Warner Bros’ exact plans for their DC movie universe beyond Aquaman, Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984 largely remain a mystery. With very little officially announced, and a great deal unofficially in the works, fans are no doubt looking to the studio’s panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con for concrete news. Last year, Warner Bros. listed a series of movies, effectively confirming they were in development but not offering any other insight. However, a lot has changed since then, especially with the release of Justice League, which underperformed critically and at the box office. So Warner Bros. may have a new - or, at least, slightly different - vision for its DC movie franchise. And hopefully we’ll soon learn what that is and what that means for Birds of Prey.

Next: Casting The DCEU’s Birds of Prey

Source: DiscussingFilm, Flickering Myth, Omega Underground

  • Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25