Margot Robbie Explains Why It Took So Long To Make ‘Birds Of Prey’

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Margot Robbie explained why it took a relatively long time to get Birds of Prey made.

Before Suicide Squad was released in theaters, Warner Bros. announced the development of a spin-off centered on Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey. Margot Robbie had initially pitched her concept for Birds of Prey to Warner Bros. in 2015 while Suicide Squad was in production and remained actively involved in the creative process for the film as a producer on the project.

Over the next three years, Margot Robbie would continue to work on Birds of Prey and present her concept to Warner Bros. before the studio ultimately signed off on her vision in April 2018. During a press event to promote Birds of Prey, Margot Robbie explained that the film took relatively longer to bring to the big screen compared to most projects because an R-rated female-led superhero film hadn’t been done at the time and they wanted to spend a lot of time developing the script to ensure everyone was confident it would work:

“I wish it was quicker. Even the quickest movie is going to take at least three years, I reckon. But this one, it took a little… it was a tall order. This was before anyone had done an “R” rated comic book film. I was saying I wanted to do an “R” rated film. This was before “Wonder Woman”, I was saying I wanted a female film, a female-led action film… those things weren’t done yet and I think they wanted to make sure if they were going to take a risk like that, that it was going to be done correctly, so we spent a lot of time developing the script, making everyone feel confident in the material. And then once everyone was on board and some other things started coming out, it helped them feel like ‘oh yeah this is good work.’ Then after that, it started to move quite quickly, but it was those initial stages. I think when I was pitching it sounded crazy.”

One of the first writers Margot Robbie met with for the project was Bumblebee scribe Christina Hodson, who was ultimately brought on board to pen the screenplay for Birds of Prey. Reflecting on the writing process, Margot Robbie recalled how much fun it was once the script was ready and they could bring on the rest of the Birds of Prey creative team:

“Christina was one of the first writers I met with. I loved her samples, we met, we started work-shopping it. We definitely had a script within the first year. We got stuck in a treatment stage for a while and then we had a script. And then it got to the fun part where we were like ‘okay, now we’re good to go. Now we can bring in a director, a production designer, cinematographer, now we can cast.’ We imagined those characters for so long, and then we got to see actors reading those words, and we were like ‘wow it’s really happening.'”

Are you excited to see what Margot Robbie and the Birds of Prey team have in store for audiences? Let us know what you think of Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey in the comments section below!

Here is the official synopsis for Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey:

“You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.”

Directed by Cathy Yan from a script penned by Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson, Birds of Prey stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz, Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Ali Wong, Robert Catrini, and Michael Masini have also been cast in undisclosed roles.

Birds of Prey will be released in theaters on February 7, 2020. Stay tuned for more news on the movei and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!

Sebastian Peris

Sebastian Peris

Canadian film buff, political junkie, comic book geek, and board game enthusiast.