Before the pandemic changed the movie industry at every turn, one of Warner Bros.' last movies in theaters before the shutdowns came with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. This turned out to be one of the company's best-reviewed movies behind Robbie's eccentric Harley Quinn, even kick-starting early plans for a spin-off centered on Jurnee Smollet's Black Canary who was introduced in the flick.
Although there hasn't been a ton of public news surrounding that spin-off, Lovecraft Country's Misha Green is on board with Warner Bros. to write the script for the Black Canary solo project heading straight to HBO Max. Even with the movie confirmed to be in the works, there are no signs pointing to when it will go into development or when it will debut on the streaming service, especially considering the company's merger with Discovery.
When fans last saw Smollett in the role, she had just revealed her meta-human powers and fully assumed her place as the DCEU's Black Canary. Now, ahead of her upcoming return, the actress finally has an update on how the process is going with making her own solo DC project.
Jurnee Smollett Gives Black Canary Spin-Off Update
Speaking with The New York Times, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey star Jurnee Smollett provided an update on her own Black Canary solo spin-off project with Warner Bros.
While sharing her excitement for everything that she's working on, she described characters like this one as "dream roles" while confirming that she's currently preparing for the role:
“I’m very excited about the slate of films we have coming down the pipeline. They’re dream roles.”
Additionally, head writer Misha Green heaped praise upon Smollett for her intense preparation, noting how the actress has "thought about 900 different ways to approach her character" ahead of all of her roles.
Smollett Ready for Black Canary Return
Having worked together on Lovecraft Country for HBO, Green and Smollett have built quite the rapport with one another as they look to continue what Birds of Prey built more than two years ago, and to plenty of success at that. While this quote doesn't provide any specifics on when their next collaboration will go into development, the two are both ready to bring Black Canary back into the spotlight when the time comes.
The biggest question now is where the movie will fit into Warner Bros.' future plans with the DCEU, especially since it's currently set for a release on HBO Max alongside other films like Batgirl. The new management team at Warner Bros. Discovery seems to be moving away from movie releases via the streaming service, meaning the Black Canary film could be in for some major release adjustments as it looks to start production.
Even though the solo movie's place within the DCEU production and release schedule is still a mystery, people making the project like Smollett and Green haven't lost their excitement as they look forward to bringing Black Canary to life once again.
