How 'Birds Of Prey' Distinguishes Itself From 'Suicide Squad,' According To Director Cathy Yan [Set Visit]

Suicide Squad was by no means a box office failure, but it's safe to assume no one considers it much of a success. Reviews were scathing, and the general consensus seems to be that it's the worst of DC's recent movies. Now here comes Birds of Prey, a film that brings back Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn, as played by Margot Robbie, but seems to be standing on its own two feet.

During /Film's visit to the Birds of Prey set, director Cathy Yan spoke about the Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad differences, and how the upcoming movie forges its own path while not completely discounting the events of Suicide Squad.

Will Birds of Prey serve as a continuation of Suicide Squad? Yes and no. Director Cathy Yan isn't going to completely ignore the events of that not-so-great movie that introduced Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn – but that doesn't mean she's going to worry about sticking too close to it, either. "It's definitely a challenge because you wanna pay homage to not just the comic books, but then also the films before it and obviously we've seen Margot play Harley before in Suicide Squad," Yan said during a visit to the Birds of Prey set. "And so it's definitely a fun challenge to figure out like what do we keep from that version of Harley and what we differentiate."

Of course, all you have to do is take one long at the film's full (and comically long) title, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, to understand that a big part of this movie is about Harley starting over.  "I think that given what the story's about and her emancipation and that she's out on her own, she's not gonna [deal with the] Joker, and with Suicide Squad, she's so connected to the Joker," Yan continued. "I mean, their story [in that movie] is so intertwined. It really is their love story if you will. But this is not. And so I think that gave us a lot of opportunities to say, like, 'What is she like?' Not necessarily post-Joker, but just in almost like a parallel universe. And [it] allowed all of us the freedom to say, 'We're gonna create a different Gotham.'"

That certainly sounds like the movie is ignoring Suicide Squad, but Yan does go on to say that some elements from that previous film will carry over into this "We do keep certain things that are very Harley-esque," the filmmaker says. "Her tattoos have remained the same. Her hair is a little different, but it feels like a natural like arc to her character from Suicide Squad.  And she still remains recognizable I think. And even her white skin. We do a different like patina on it so it feels a little bit different. It's less thickly white I would say. But those are all like still touchpoints for sure."

Birds of Prey opens February 7, 2020.