Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – yes, we still hate that title as much as everyone else does – has really sprung into life over the past little while. And despite that mouthful of a moniker, it’s shaping up to be pretty promising.
Not too long ago, Ewan McGregor was cast as crime boss Black Mask, the main antagonist of the all-female team-up film. Given that Roman Sionis is one of the biggest Batman villains yet to feature on the big screen, it’s great to know that he’ll be involved. But it turns out he won’t be the only one of the Dark Knight’s antagonists to put in an appearance here.
Deadline brings word today that Chris Messina has been brought on board to play Gotham City serial killer Victor Zsasz. Though not as well known as say the Joker or Two-Face, Zsasz is still a pretty major villain in DC Comics and was “first introduced in Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 in June 1992 as part of Batman: The Last Arkham series.” Famous for “slitting his victims’ throats and leaving them in lifelike poses, while adding a tally mark to himself each time,” he’ll be saddling up with Black Mask in Birds of Prey as they no doubt concoct some sort of plan to wreak havoc on Gotham City.
There’s no word yet on how big of a part Messina will have as Zsasz, but he joins an already fantastic cast which includes the aforementioned McGregor, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Huntress and Black Canary, respectively. Not to mention a number of strong supporting players as well.
From what we understand, the plot’s set to revolve around the titular trio attempting to rescue Cassandra Cain from Sionis’ clutches as he sets out to take over the Gotham underworld (a Gotham without Batman around to protect it). Details beyond that remain under lock and key, but with production for Birds of Prey set to get underway in January, before it arrives in cinemas a little over a year later on February 7th, 2020, we should learn more soon.