We’re just a few weeks away from the release of Birds Of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), and we couldn’t be more excited. Margot Robbie’s portrayal of the iconic eponymous character—who first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series before making her way into the comics—was the highlight of Suicide Squad. We know the Oscar-nominated actress is more than ready to lead her own film and the trailers make this Joker-less film look like an absolute blast.
Now, thanks to Bloody Disgusting, we have our first look at three scenes from the upcoming film, which give us an even closer look at what Birds of Prey will be like in action. In this first minute-long clip, we learn more about Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask and why, exactly, he’s after this group of women. Harley lists off a series of motives for why each of them are embroiled in this mess, and… in his defense, it sounds like he has a pretty good reason to be pissed.
In the second clip, we see Black Mask in all of his villainous glory, chomping away at popcorn while he has one of his goons (a bleach-blonde Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz) taunt a captive Harley Quinn with a knife. He seems pretty happy to have her killed off, until she tells him that she knows he’s looking for something. And that something is a diamond. Lucky for him, Harley Quinn is known for being an expert thief. Are the two about to work out some kind of arrangement?
The third clip is the least plot-heavy of the trio but easily the most fun. It shows the girls engaged in action—probably with more of Black Mask’s cronies—in what looks like a giant fun house. There are huge rubber hands and neon colors galore. We get a taste of each of their individual fighting styles, and in a moment of levity, Harley offers a hair tie to Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary. Need even more reasons to get hyped for this film? The interaction between women here feels so genuine and not at all stereotypical, which is exactly what the superhero genre needs, and is the benefit of having women in all of the key creative roles.
Birds of Prey is directed by Cathy Yan, written by Christina Hodson, and produced by Margot Robbie, Sue Kroll, and Bryan Unkeless. In addition to Robbie, McGregor, Smollett-Bell, and Messina, it also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain. Unlike Suicide Squad, where Harley Quinn shared many scenes with her lover Joker, Birds of Prey will show her untethered from the chaotic clown man, who is off winning awards in his new corner of the DC cinematic universe.