Birds of Prey‘s full title was unveiled last week, and it raised a few eyebrows: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). That’s quite a mouthful, and while audiences and industry alike will inevitably be shortening that to simply Birds of Prey for everyday use, it being the full title will still mandate it to be used all over the place.
So, other then it being kind of funny (and possibly a Simpsons reference), what’s the thinking behind it? Well, Margot Robbie, who’ll star in the film as Harley Quinn, was recently asked whether this was genuinely the title, and here’s what she said:
“That’s real. Yeah, that’s the title. It’s not going to be … It’s not a very serious movie. Birds of Prey makes it sound very serious, and then that [subtitle is] Harley kind of going ‘Hey, here I am.’”
Given that the DCEU has frequently faced criticism for being overly dour, this might be a calculated decision to show that they’re capable of putting out a fun, lighthearted movie that audiences shouldn’t take too seriously (though this is definitely a bit of a turnaround after an earlier story said that the movie will be “dark, gritty and violent”). After all, Deadpool‘s had huge success with an irreverent attitude and similar hits like Venom haven’t taken themselves particularly seriously, either – so perhaps this is an effort to demonstrate to audiences that this is a new and improved DCEU?
Either way, the cards are in this film’s favor. Though Suicide Squad might have been savaged by critics, it was a big box office success, with much of the attraction being Robbie’s Harley Quinn. She’s sure to be the centrepiece of Suicide Squad 2 (and if Joker and Harley Quinn ever gets off the ground, that too). As such, you can bet that this playful addition to the title is going to be the vanguard of a marketing push that promotes Harley as the reason to check out Birds of Prey.
Will it work? I guess we’ll know when Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) hits cinemas on February 7th, 2020.