Home Entertainment Birds of Prey trailer won’t be released online, leaks out anyway

Birds of Prey trailer won’t be released online, leaks out anyway

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Have you ever wondered how publications such as ours can get a 400 word articles up for a new movie trailer within minutes – sometimes seconds – of a trailer debuting online? Do we all just type like the Flash? Nope, no superpowers here. Just studio distributors being kind enough to sometimes let us know ahead of time when big trailers will drop and often even providing some supplemental materials to go with it so that we can prep something ahead of time.

Recently, we got a batch of notifications like this about new trailers that would be dropping, but there was one big discrepancy. According to the notice, the first trailer for upcoming DC Comics adaptation Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – yes, that’s the actual title – would be released today. The unprecedented catch was though that it would be screening exclusively in cinemas ahead of Warner Bros’ It: Chapter Two and not get any online release. Weird.

WB had recently done something similar for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet which got a cryptic 40-second teaser playing in front of Hobbs & Shaw. That was for a super-secretive project from a filmmaker who prides himself on clandestine filmmaking though. This is a mainstream comic book blockbuster spinning out of 2017’s Suicide Squad with a cast led by Margot Robbie’s ridiculously popular interpretation of DC Comics anti-heroine Harley Quinn. What would be the point of keeping it away from fans who didn’t go see an unrelated horror movie this weekend?

Well, whatever WB’s point was, it’s moot now because – as anybody with a brain probably predicted – the trailer has leaked online alongside some new images. The studio is yanking these down as fast as they’re going up, so I’m actually linking multiple sources of the teaser down below so hopefully you can get to see it.

If by the time you get here, those vids are offline, here’s quick breakdown:

  • The teaser opens with red balloons flying across the screen with a score/sound FX taken from It: Chapter Two. Harley Quinn then appears and knocks them out of the way with a hammer before declaring “I’m so sick of f–king clowns”.
  • Next we get a flurry of action shots showing off Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) either kicking butt or speeding through the streets of Gotham on motorcycles. Huntress wields her signature crossbow, Harley tosses a hammer into somebody’s face. Everything is bright and colourful and looks fantastic, but none of the characters are in their recognizable costumes
  • We also get shots of Ewan McGregor as the villainous Black Mask having a blast in some kind of carnival fun house, but he’s completely sans the headwear that gives the DC villain his name.
  • While this is all happening we have on-screen text saying “Next year, prey for Gotham”.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is directed by indie filmmaker Cathy Yan, who was personally picked by Robbie who also acts as producer. The film is written by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee) and also stars Chris Messina, and Ella Jay Basco. It is rumoured the latter plays a young version of Cassandra Cain and the story revolves around the ass-kicking ladies mentioned above getting together to save her from McGregor’s Black Mask. The film is scheduled to be released on 7 February 2020.

Last Updated: September 5, 2019

13 Comments

  1. Son of Banana Jim

    September 5, 2019 at 09:19

    These precious 34 seconds have more heart and soul in them then the +3 minutes of cringe from the CW’s laughable Batwoman trailers or that really dumb Rise of Skywalker trailer from D23. This has actually piqued my interest. I WANT to see more.

    See, that’s how trailers are supposed to be. They should hook you in, and leave you wanting more, not grabbing a bucket and vomiting your guts out.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      September 5, 2019 at 09:19

      I’d rather support EA than support C(SJ)W

      Reply

      • Stoompot

        September 5, 2019 at 10:11

        Marvel : Look at all our ladies in Endgame
        DC: Hold my cosmopolitan

        Reply

        • Son of Banana Jim

          September 5, 2019 at 10:25

          Pfftt.. Current-day DC drinks a virgin mojito – infused through kale.

          Reply

      • Son of Banana Jim

        September 5, 2019 at 09:31

        You just need to stay in your lane and embrace more HER-Os, brav! 😛

        The weird thing is, I actually want to watch Batwoman just to see whether the cringe is at eye-roll level or whether I’ll need to get an alcoholic beverage, and there’s a part of me that hopes that it’s so bad, that it’s actually addictive to watch. You know where you just want to see how hot the dumpster fire gets – CWs Pandora is exactly like that. It’s so utterly shit, that I merely watch to see whether it can get worse…. And so far, it’s been delivering on its promise LOL!

        PS: I kind of liked the actress in Orange is the New Black, but then she wasn’t a main character.

        Reply

        • Guz

          September 5, 2019 at 10:39

          Also If you want to see a dumpster fire look no further than the Charmed reboot, I quite liked the original but this new one…..

          Reply

          • For the Emperor!

            September 5, 2019 at 10:51

            Charmed has a reboot? FFS. After Sabrina I don’t even want to risk it…

        • Guz

          September 5, 2019 at 10:39

          I would like Batwoman to be a success, I really do, and it probably would be if anybody but CW was making it.

          Reply

      • Son of Banana Jim

        September 5, 2019 at 09:44

        I should probably add that I’m less vitriolic with TV shows because they’re generally free or at least the cost of watching is mitigated by the streaming service you’re using or whether you’re a boss and watch it all on SABCeTV…cough… or sail the seven seas.

        With shit triple A movies (like Star Wors), it definitely rattles me, because nowadays, unless you’re a reviewer, a ticket, popcorn and a cooldrink can set you back well over R150.

        Reviewers don’t feel the cost of watching a shit movie, and they sometimes get perks. When I was reviewing movies, I had a cool little press card. nuMetro and SterKinekor used to give us free snacks before a movie, sometimes you’d even get some movie swag and if you’re really lucky, you were invited to press events etc. Granted that was nearly 15 years ago….

        I sometimes wonder whether the severe discrepancy we currently see between reviewer/critic and audience scores would become less pronounced if critics actually paid their way.

        Reply

        • Kervyn Cloete

          September 5, 2019 at 10:51

          So here’s the thing. I get to go to press screenings for free and get free popcorn and soda and all that jazz. And then you know what I do usually the weekend thereafter? Pay to go watch those same movies again with my wife and/or friends. I pay for my movies just like everybody else. I’m not talking for other film reviewers, but this is my experience.

          Also, declaring that there is a big disconnect between critics and audiences isn’t fair either. There’s a disconnect between a portion of the critical crowd and audiences yes, but lots of film reviewers are out there that align perfectly with general audience tastes. You just have to find them and stop listening to and getting upset with people who don’t agree with your tastes.

          But to get back to the point of perks influencing reviewers, it’s actually completely off-base, in my opinion. If anything its precisely because reviewers get to see so many films that they have the opinions they do. A lot of them are jaded by having to sit through so many films, many of those films often being terrible. So they respond to stuff outside of the norm, stuff that doesn’t conform to the just purely entertaining needs of most audience members. I’ve seen this personally so many times, where something just being good is no longer good enough. Its either exceptional or its trash. No middle ground. And honestly, there’s absolutely nothing about the film critic crowd (which I am a part of) that pisses me off more.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            September 5, 2019 at 11:05

            You don’t need to over-explain your free stuff, I don’t think SARS reads Disqus

          • Kervyn Cloete

            September 5, 2019 at 11:29

            You can never be sure!

          • Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

            September 9, 2019 at 11:47

            Thank you for this insight.

            However, don’t you think that a film should be aware that the general audience isn’t exposed to as many movies as you are, therefore isn’t as jaded? Shouldn’t this always be kept in mind when reviewing movies? Are the critics reviewing for other critics or are they reviewing for audiences?

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