A new banner for Birds of Prey has finally acknowledged the presence of the film’s titular vigilantes and not just Harley Quinn. The story revolves around Cassandra Cain, a young woman being hunted by crime lord Black Mask and serial killer Victor Zsasz for the valuable diamond she discovers, and ends up under the protection of various capable woman who are each in their own way lost and looking for purpose.

The movie’s full title, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), suggests that the Joker’s former love interest is an additional part of the movie whose story becomes entangled in the actions of the team. However, the presence of everyone else has been rather thin on the ground in its marketing, which has instead chosen to heavily lean on the popularity of both Harley Quinn as a character and Margot Robbie as a actor. Such has been the favoritism of the focus, audiences unfamiliar with the makeup of the team could have been forgiven for mistaking it for a Harley Quinn movie.

The image is the first instance of all five women being portrayed as equals in their own movie, arranged side by side on and around a sofa in a variation of the iconic title card of ‘90s sitcom Friends (hat tip ComicBookMovie). Left to right, they are Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya.

As well as marketing images, the movie’s trailers and promos have been geared towards highlighting Robbie’s presence. The cinema-exclusive “I’m so f–ing over clowns!” teaser that was shown before It Chapter 2 plays into the premise of Harley’s separation from the Joker. Even the most recent trailer, which actually showed her co-stars, is nevertheless edited to portray her as the protagonist, featuring Harley narrating its events, taking up the bulk of the screen time, and singing an ironic rendition of Edith Piaf’s “Hyme à l’amour.”

Marketing is intended to generate interest in a movie, and regardless of the divisive opinions of Suicide Squad’s overall quality, most agree that Robbie’s portrayal of Harley was one of its most memorable aspects, so it makes sense for Birds of Prey to utilize that popularity to draw people in, especially with regards to an adaptation of a comic book series not especially well known among general audiences. From the other perspective, those familiar with the team will be aware of how expansive and varied its roster has been over the years and would like to be assured which characters will be used, and the absence of founding member Oracle will for some be a notable disappointment, especially regarding how her story relates to the Joker. Invoking Friends in a promo finally bringing the characters together is likely intended as pre-emptive irony, since it’s probable that the women’s relationships will be antagonistic when they first encounter each other, before becoming united in their protection of Cassandra from Gotham’s never-ending supply of violent men.

Next: Every DC Movie Coming After Joker

Source: ComicBookMovie

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