The entirety of the DC slate has come into question over the last week after the sudden scrapping of the HBO Max Batgirl film. While already completed projects like Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom seem to be safe, films and TV shows that are still in the development process are very much in question. As David Zaslav figures out how he wants to manage the DC universe, some projects in the pipeline may no longer be part of the long-term planning of Warner Bros. Discovery.
One of those projects is a standalone film centered around Black Canary, specifically the version of the character that debuted in 2020’s Birds of Prey. Jurnee Smollett took the role of Dinah Lance in the film, teaming up with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress to take down Roman Sionis, played by Ewan McGregor. A Black Canary spin-off starring Smollett was revealed last year, with the star saying she’s excited to explore the character further. Despite the reconfiguration of WBD’s DC properties, TVLine is reporting that Black Canary is still in development specifically for HBO Max. Granted, the film’s status could change at any given time, but for now, it sounds like Smollett will get the chance to dive deeper into the world of Dinah Lance.
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What Allowed Black Canary to Continue Moving Forward?
While it’s exciting to hear that Black Canary is still moving forward, it’s fair to question why that project is still being given the green light for HBO Max while Batgirl was shelved indefinitely. What may have saved Black Canary is the fact that cameras haven’t started rolling on the production, meaning there’s plenty of time for the creative team to beef it up to meet the standards Zaslav is setting for all future DC films. Batgirl had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the old Warner Bros. regime, which was focusing on developing mid-budget films specifically for streaming. Zaslav would rather create high-quality DC projects, which in his mind means spending a lot of money to make the films live up to the scope of the comics. Blockbusters like Black Adam and Shazam! are the types of films Zaslav would like to see from DC, which may mean Black Canary takes on a much larger scale than what the character experienced in Birds of Prey.
The film is still very early in the development process, with Smollett being the only star attached at this time. The script is being written by Misha Green, who developed the HBO series Lovecraft Country, which starred Smollett alongside Jonathan Majors. Birds of Prey was directed by Cathy Yan, and since Black Canary is set to be a spin-off of that film, it would make sense for WBD to bring Yan on to helm the Dinah Lance solo adventure. Not much else is known about the film’s plot, production start, or when it’s set to begin streaming on HBO Max. Since it doesn’t seem like filming will begin this year, a 2023 start date and 2024 release may be in the cards for Black Canary.
