The current state of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) seems to be in a state of flux. With the critical and commercial failures of Batman v. Superman and Justice League, compared to the extremely lucrative solo films like Aquaman and Wonder Woman, it seems like DC is more interested in doing solo superhero movies than smashing every character together into a forced, poorly planned cinematic universe. I couldn’t be happier about this change, with 2019 giving us a very pleasant looking Shazam! and a fascinating Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoneix. As for 2020, we’re going to get Wonder Woman 1984, which should be good, and Birds of Prey, which just dropped its first teaser today and looks just as concerning as its title.
Actually, I tell a lie. The movie isn’t just titled Birds of Prey. The full, aggravatingly annoying title, is Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Memorable? Yes. Terrible? You better believe it. It’s like DC doesn’t want you to forget that Harley Quinn is popular so they’re taking every opportunity to feature her whenever they can. Hence, her appearance in Birds of Prey and her dominance over the teaser. Over half of the trailer is just watching Harley stand around in a warehouse drinking booze with brief flashes to Huntress, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor. Add in the EDM and nauseating color palette and in 20 seconds I’m convinced that I’m not going to be like BoPatFEoOHQ, which I just discovered is a delightful acronym to say aloud.
At least with the Joaquin Phoneix Joker teaser there was enough mood to keep me interested and it gave us the reveal of his Joker makeup. This teaser just confirms, poorly mind you, that BoPatFEoOHQ is still a thing and that I guess we should care about it? There’s no word on when the official first trailer will debut, though I’m going to assume it’ll drop around the time when Shazam! hits theaters. Oh, and the Youtube account hosting the video is called “CheekySneakyPeeky.” Like I needed to be annoyed more.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is scheduled for release February 7, 2020.
