Why do the new Birds of Prey posters only highlight Harley Quinn?

The new Birds of Prey posters put the focus on Harley Quinn, and there may be a good reason for this.

New promotional posters for Birds of Prey have arrived. Yet everyone is asking, “Why is only Harley Quinn in these posters?” Well, there is a reason for this.

Debate aside, these posters look phenomenal. How can one not get excited to see one of Harley’s babies in the poster? Babies, of course, means her hyenas. We see one poster with her lying on top of a cop car, one with her riding a bullet and one where she has angel wings. All of these colorful, ridiculous posters are bound to hype fans for the film. Then again, they all have her and only her. Where are Black Canary, Huntress, Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain? In other words, where are the actual Birds of Prey? Fans no doubt deserve an answer. Comments on social media speak of fear of this being mainly a Harley Quinn film and nothing else.

Is this primarily a Harley Quinn film? Well, Margot Robbie has top billing in it. She’s also the producer, and her production company LuckyChap Entertainment is bankrolling the movie, as well. We do know this film features Harley Quinn breaking up with the Joker. So it’s fair to say that, yes, this is something of a Harley Quinn film, primarily. Let us assume these other rumored projects will come to fruition such as Gotham City Sirens, Birds of Prey vs. Gotham City Sirens and a Joker/Harley Quinn film.

Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey is one piece of this Harley Quinn saga they plan to tell. Again, this is if we assume these other projects do become a reality. Perhaps they plan to go the route that Zack Snyder originally wanted with his 5-movie Justice League story arc that included Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Die-hard comic book fans need to understand that they do not make up the entire market for comic book films. Margot Robbie is an Academy and BAFTA-nominated actress. She already has two stellar and beloved films under her belt in The Wolf of Wall Street and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. She even has a Vogue commercial that parodies American Psycho.

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Margot Robbie has talent, sex appeal and marketability. General audiences know her and her character Harley Quinn more than her other roles due to Suicide Squad. Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary) is more of a television actress who does have some films but nothing major. Meanwhile, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress) has a few well-known films, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 10 Cloverfield Lane and the last few Die-Hard films. However, these are all niche titles for the most part. Hence Warner Bros. has to fall back on Margot Robbie.

Now, let’s go beyond Margot Robbie to Harley Quinn. Her character has become an even bigger sensation in recent years. One can argue in the pantheons of DC she is getting up there with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. She has her own comic book series, spinoffs, a starring role in Suicide Squad, a show coming to DC Universe and so much more. You can also find plenty of Harley Quinn merchandise at Hot Topic.

She is everywhere to the point that more general audiences and fans ought to know who she is. Again, general audiences already saw her in Suicide Squad. Non-comic book reading fans most likely also know her after growing up with Batman: The Animated Series and playing the Arkham games. With all of this said, Warner. Bros. is going to rely on her to fill up theaters to come and watch all of the Birds of Prey. Harley Quinn is simply the gateway to Black Canary, Huntress, Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain.

It’s safe to say the DCEU is never going to follow MCU’s approach of doing solos projects before a team-up film. They have their own plans and simply do not want to imitate. In time, we may see more promotion for Huntress and Black Canary. We are just about to enter the early stages of marketing for the film, and four months are left until its release. We’ll probably see posters featuring the other characters, and maybe even their own solo TV spots, as well. Have patience, and give it some time. And if the film is a success, maybe we can see a truer to fashion Birds of Prey film without Harley Quinn. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) opens in theaters on February 7, 2020.