Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)had a mouthful of a title that might have put off some potential audience members but certainly didn’t deter those who saw it from falling in love with its engaging anti-heroes. From Margot Robbie’s endearingly unhinged Harley Quinn to Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s intense and awkward Huntress, even detractors tend to agree that the characters were almost unanimously entertaining and worth the price of admission. Now, one of them is getting some attention she might have missed out on.
Jurnee Smollett captured the hearts of audiences with her performance as Dinah Lance/Black Canary inBirds of Prey, but in the time since its release, many have noticed that she hasn’t gotten the accolades they think she deserves. Afterthe film was seemingly overlooked among nominations for the Oscars, those feelings only intensified, and now her fans have taken to Twitter to proclaim their love and support for the character and actress. The trending page flared up and the love for Black Canary coalesced into a pitch for a series surrounding the superhero, and since HBO is the current home of all things DC, why not launch it there?
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The hashtag #BlackCanaryHBOSeries flew across Twitter, with many fans pointing out how a full on show surrounding the character would at least partially make up for the lack of attention Smollett and the rest of theBirds of Preycrew unfortunately suffered. The film saw Dinah dealing with her own personal demons as she dealt with having to answer to Ewan McGregor’s delightfully(and sometimes creepily) villainous Roman Sionis (aka Black Mask), and even though she ultimately got a decent ending in the movie, fans still think she deserves more.
Smollett herself has shown interest in returning to the role, and many fans are citing that as a good reason to pursue a standalone series for her character. It makes sense for many reasons, among them being that Black Canary is already a recognizable character even outside theBirds of Preyfilm. So combined with Smollett’s willingness to reprise, it could be a lucrative opportunity. It’s clear she put a lot of effort into the role, eventaking inspiration from the fighting gameInjustice 2for parts of her Black Canary performance, and that even Deadpool knows that maximum effort deserves satisfaction.
Another common thread popping up under the hashtag involves pointing out that most of the other calls for DC-related series revolve solely around male superheroes such as Ben Affleck’s Batman. While most acknowledge that they’d like to see more of him, it’s worth noting that Affleck himself has expressed very little enthusiasm about ever playing the character again. Combine that with the fact that more representation for people other than white men tends to increase interest in any given franchise, and a Black Canary series almost seems like a no-brainer.
Of course, there’s no guarantee anything will happen. This is just a hashtag campaign, after all. Still, it can’t hurt to keep pushing, because change never really happens unless a lot of people get really loud about it. That’s how the “Snyder Cut” ofJustice Leaguecame into being, for better or worse, so maybe it’s a good starting point. Now to wait and maybe also call for a properBirds of Preysequel so Harley and Poison Ivy can get some quality time together.
Birds of Preyis available to stream on HBO Max, Hulu, and Prime Video.
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