'Birds of Prey' Update (Barbara Gordon Not In Movie But Will Be Batgirl in Batgirl Movie)

Black Canary will make her DCEU debut in Birds of Prey. This could open up Pandora’s box for DCEU including the existence of Green Arrow.
It’s been confirmed that Batgirl/Barbra Gordon will join Harley Quinn in Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey. Additionally, recent rumors suggest that Huntress and Black Canary are to set to make their DCEU debut in Yan’s film. The idea of including the original trio makes sense should DCEU President Walter Hamada want to stay true to the comics.

If that proves to be the case, introducing Black Canary means that the DCEU has another heroine with a great story. Additionally, her story connects to a number of DC Comic’s characters including, Green Arrow.

There’s a great backstory to be explored
To begin with, the exploration of Black Canary’s history needs to take place. Like many comic book heroes, Black Canary’s history is convoluted. It’s why the Arrowverse has three different versions of her. As a matter of fact, the most accurate depiction of Black Canary was Arrow’s Laurel Lance(Katie Cassidy). One major flaw was that she didn’t possess the meta-gene to produce the ultrasonic Canary Cry. That was likely due to Arrow being more grounded than The Flash, which introduced the meta phenomenon to CW’s Arrowverse.

Nevertheless, Arrow’s Laurel was inspired to take the mantle of Black Canary just like in the comics. In Arrow, it was the death of her sister opposed to the comics where her mother served as her inspiration. Additionally, her father was a cop, she trained with Wildcat and she was in a relationship with Oliver. Unfortunately, she was killed off and replaced by Dinah Drake, an as kicking meta-human. The multiple Canary’s and confusing stories are something the DCEU has to avoid — there’s a way it can.

How the DCEU can make a Black Canary unique to its universe
There are some linear connections that can be made to tell a perfect Black Canary story. The DCEU should mix and match her origin. It doesn’t mean that her mother can’t be from another earth. Instead, it means her history should act as layers that can be peeled over time. This will allow Black Canary to be her own hero, but also, all the DCEU to explore a female character in a solo movie — here’s how.

Dinah Laurel Lance is the daughter of a police officer, Larry Lance. And her mother, Dinah Drake Lance, was the first Black Canary. Unlike the comics, however, there is no Justice League Society in the DCEU so that part of her mother’s history can be omitted. Part of her history should be her being cursed by the Wizard, as an infant in order to grant her the Canary Cry. This would give depth to her mother’s exploits as Black Canary and the enemies she’s made along the way. In fact, having her father’s death tie into her mother’s exploits should be one of the reasons her mother doesn’t want Dinah to become the Black Canary.

Nevertheless, Dinah should have the urge take the mantle as Black Canary. After her extensive training with Wildcat, Dinah feels she’s ready to become Black Canary — despite her mother’s warnings. The dynamic between her and her mother will make for a great story. Furthermore, by having Dinah’s mother lose her life by the hands of her enemy would be great as history repeats itself.

How Black Canary fits into a Birds of Prey movie
We don’t exactly need to see a Black Canary origin story, yet. However, all of the events mentioned above could be why Dinah opted to join Oracle. Oracle finds a broken Dinah and offers her salvation. It’s a way for her to once again find her place as a hero — as a hero for hire. It’ll give Dinah a chance to escape the life she once had. The initial bitterness between Oracle and Black Canary could be brought on by Barbra knowing so much about Dinah and opting to operate in the shadows. As the layers are peeled back the women can find commonality in their ability to persevere.

Together they could seek out and sway Huntress to join the fight. In fact, reports surfaced that Penguin will join the DCEU. If so, he’ll likely join Harley Quinn as the other antagonist. Oracle and Black Canary won’t be enough to take down Penguin and Harley who’s even more dangerous. So, they must find help, and that’s where the Huntress comes in. In the end, the Birds of Prey are victorious. They lock Harley Quinn up in time for Suicide Squad 2 and Harley see’s what woman empowerment can do. This could see Harley take over as leader of Task Force X. And eventually star in her own movie (Mad Love) that could lead to Gotham City Sirens.

Introducing Black Canary gives the green light to the Green Arrow

One of the most iconic relationships in comics if Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance. So why not make it so in the DCEU. With Black Canary making her big screen debut, Green Arrow should soon follow. While their relationship wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, they are still one hell of a power couple. Fans of Green Arrow have been anticipating the day we’d see the Emerald Archer on the big screen. It would be great to see the island story told in the DCEU.

There’s no reason not to have Black Canary and Green Arrow working side by side. In fact, it was Dinah and Oliver who formed Justice League of America that included Aquaman, Flash, and Green Lantern. Seeing a true depiction of Oliver Queen on the big screen could happen, thanks to Black Canary.

The inclusion of Black Canary in Birds of Prey warrants excitement. As we are eagerly anticipate seeing Black Canary in the DECU. We can’t help but wonder what it will mean for DC’s Extended Universe.

Warner Bros' upcoming Batgirl movie is rumored to be looking to hire Kristen Stewart - or someone like her - for the role of Barbara Gordon. The studio has been building up a shared cinematic universe in recent years featuring characters from the DC comics. Launched in Man of Steel, then truly kickstarted in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, the franchise has come to feature some of DC's most iconic heroes and villains. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn and more have been heavily featured in the films. Still, Warner Bros. has plenty more movies in development.

One such film revolves around Barbara Gordon aka. Batgirl, which was initially being developed by Joss Whedon. Then, Whedon stepped down from Batgirl earlier this year, and it was thought Barbara Gordon's solo movie would be delayed as a result. However, Warner Bros. is still moving forward with the Batgirl movie, hiring writer Christina Hodson, who wrote Paramount's upcoming Transformers spinoff Bumblebee and fellow DC movie Birds of Prey. Now, a new rumor offers insight into who Warner Bros. may be looking to cast as the titular superhero in Batgirl.

DanielRPK, the Twitter user who has reported a number of DC-related rumors (though not all turned out to be true), tweeted over the weekend that Warner Bros. is looking to cast a "Kristen Stewart prototype" for Batgirl. His tweet further implies the studio may be looking to cast Stewart herself and, if that doesn't happen, they'll look for an actress in the same vein. It should be noted that this rumor comes from an unsubstantiated source and, as such, it should be taken with a major grain of salt. See the tweet below.

The tweet further confirms what was reported last week, that Batgirl won't be in Birds of Prey, which disappointed fans of the comics' female team-up. However, if Warner Bros. is beginning to talk about who they want to cast in the role of Barbara Gordon, that should indicate the studio is preparing to move forward with it. It's unclear where Hodson is at in the script-writing process, but if she's putting the finishing touches on Batgirl, finding a director and star are Warner Bros' next steps.

While this rumor indicates Warner Bros. is looking at Stewart or someone along those lines, it remains to be seen if that's truly who they'll cast. The Batgirl movie is still in the early stages of development. As previously stated, it's unclear if the studio even has a finished script yet, so plans may change. That said, at the very least, this rumor seems to reveal Warner Bros. is dedicated to bringing Batgirl to the big screen. With so many projects in various stages of development, it can be difficult to tell what the studio really plans to move forward with in the coming years. However, with four movies officially announced, and more getting closer to being ready to be officially confirmed, hopefully Warner Bros. will reveal more of their upcoming DC slate soon.