Stuntman and director Chad Stahelski will help add new action scenes during Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) reshoots. The next DC movie to hit theaters will be the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Joker, but that film is set in a different universe to what’s become known as the DC Extended Universe. The DCEU, which includes movies like Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, will release its next installment in early 2020 in the form of Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). The film features the return of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and will introduce a new team of female DC superheroes.

Warner Bros. and DC’s Birds of Prey movie is directed by Cathy Yan with a script by Christina Hodson, making it a fully female-fronted affair. In addition to Robbie, the film stars Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya and Ella Jay Basco as young Cassandra Cain - who takes up the Batgirl mantle in the comics. They’ll be facing off against the villainous Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina). Ahead of the movie’s February 2020 release date, Birds of Prey is preparing for reshoots, and will be getting some help from the director of John Wick.

Now, THR is reporting Stahelski will be brought in to help design new action scenes and oversee second unit photography for Birds of Prey. (The second unit is a secondary production unit - hence the name - that focuses on filming shots and scenes not handled by the first unit, like action scenes using stunt performers rather than the main cast.) Stahelski worked for many years as a stuntman in Hollywood, before making his directorial debut on John Wick. His stunt firm, 87 Eleven, has been working on Birds of Prey since the film started production.

The term “reshoots” may hold some negative connotations for DC movie fans after Suicide Squad and Justice League both had notoriously controversial reshoots and heavily reported clashes between directors and the studio. However, studios often schedule reshoots for big blockbuster productions - like superhero movies - early on; Marvel Studios has done the same with many of its films. As such, it shouldn’t be assumed there’s a problem with Birds of Prey because it’s going back for reshoots, nor that Warner Bros. bringing Stahelski means the studio has any issue with Yan’s work. Because Stahelski is working on the second unit, he’s in no way replacing Yan and, per THR’s report, he will not have a credited directing role.

Still, it remains to be seen what exactly will be added during the Birds of Prey reshoots. Although we may not know what will be added or reshot during the additional photography, THR’s report and Stahelski’s involvement indicate Birds of Prey will be including new action scenes. A few action scenes were teased by Birds of Prey set photos, including some involving Harley Quinn, the rest of the team and/or Black Mask. It’s unclear if these new scenes will replace those that were previously shot or will be added to the film’s runtime. Once Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) reshoots officially begin, fans may get an idea of what to expect from the new scenes through more set photos.

Next: DC Is Finally Catching Up To Marvel (By Not Copying The MCU)

Source: THR

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