Birds of Prey gains another great actor! According to Deadline, Ewan McGregor will be heading over to the DC Universe to add another check in his geek card. He’s set to play a fairly well-known villain in Batman’s Rogues Gallery – the Gotham City crime lord, Roman Sionis aka Black Mask.
Black Mask made his comics debut in Batman #386 published in 1985. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character was born into wealth and forced to be friends with a young Bruce Wayne, despite his parents dislike of the Wayne family. The young Roman began to despise the “masks” his parents wore, eventually killing them and taking over the family business, to terrible results. Broke and alone, he went to break into the family crypt and was hit by lightning. He took it as his sign of rebirth. Forming a black mask out of his father’s ebony casket, he forged a new path for himself. Of course the character’s origin has changed slightly here and there but has mostly remained in tact. Some fans may recognize the character from the Arkham games.
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McGregor on the other hand has been in a ton of projects, mostly famously in Star Wars. Fans will be able to see him next in The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep, as Danny Torrance. He joins Margot Robbie returning as Harley Quinn. Additionally he joins Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary. Rosie Perez is also set to star as Gotham City Police Detective Renee Montoya.
One question that comes to mind is how this affects David Ayer‘s Gotham City Sirens project. It was originally reported last year that the Suicide Squad director wanted to feature Black Mask as the villain. It only furthers my theory that the films are becoming one in the same. As for the casting of McGregor – I’m thrilled. Though I typically don’t see McGregor in a villain role, it’s great that he’s a part of the cast. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with for the character and his role in the film.
What do you think about the casting? Are you looking forward to the film? Let us know! Be sure to come back to Geek Girl Authority for more DC film news! Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan with script by Christina Hodson, will debut in theaters February 7th, 2020.
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