Jurnee Smollett could be returning to her Birds Of Prey role of superhero Black Canary.
The Hollywood Reporter is stating that a Black Canary solo film is currently in development at HBO Max. The project would see Smollett reunited with her Lovecraft Country collaborator Misha Green. Green, who created Lovecraft Country which Smollett starred in for the streamer, will be writing the script for the project. No director has been announced as attached.
The Black Canary film is the latest project to come out of Warner Brothers desire to have spinoffs from their theatrical film lineup crossover to their HBO Max streaming service. Other DC Comics Expanded Universe-related projects coming to HBO Max include Peacemaker, a spinoff from the just released Suicide Squad which is due early next year, and a series centering on Gotham City’s police department spinning off from director Matt Reeves’s The Batman, due next March.
Although the character was a staple of the CW’s Arrow series for several seasons, Smollett’s incarnation is the first time she has appeared on the big screen. A strong hand-to-hand combat fighter, Black Canary, aka Dinah Lance, also has a supersonic “Canary Cry” which she can use to level opponents and smash through obstacles.
Released to moderately positive notices in February 2020, Birds Of Prey focused on a group female crimefighters who come together to stop a vicious Gotham City crimelord. The film under performed at the box office, although receipts could have been impacted by the movie’s R rating and the fact that it’s release was cut short when the initial COVID outbreak shut down theaters in mid-March.
