Cathy Yan to Direct Birds of Prey Movie

Cathy Yan could be set to direct the Birds of Prey movie. The news that Warner Bros. was in the process of completing a deal with the director came via Deadline. This would make Yan the third female director to helm a DC Comics movie, with the first being Patty Jenkins, who directed Wonder Woman, and the second being Ava DuVernay who is helming the upcoming The New Gods. Yan would also be the first female Asian director ever to direct a superhero film.

The film currently has no official title, but it would star Margot Robbie as the character Harley Quinn. Robbie had reportedly lobbied hard to get a female director for the film. This would be a big deal for Yan as she has only previously directed one movie, the indie film, Dead Pigs. The film won the World Cinema Dramatic Award For Ensemble Acting at Sundance last January. Despite being a relative newcomer, Yan gave “a spectacular” presentation for Birds of Prey.

The movie will be based on the Birds of Prey comics, which teams Harley Quinn with several other female crime fighters. Some of the most prominent of these have been Black Canary, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and Huntress. It is currently unknown if any or all of them will be characters in the film. The script was written by Christina Hodson, who wrote the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, and was recently hired to write the Batgirl movie.

In addition to Birds of Prey, there are several other movies in some state of production featuring Harley Quinn. These include a Harley Quinn solo movie, Harley Quinn Vs The Joker, Gotham City Sirens, and the sequel to Suicide Squad. This film looks like it could start production by year’s end or early next year after Robbie completes Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.