'Birds Of Prey' Writer Christina Hodson Explains The Movie's Crazy Long Title

Birds of Prey's full title just rolls off the tongue. In full, it's called Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn), and has been confirmed to be the official title and not some joke that star Margot Robbie scribbled on the script. Now writer Christina Hodson is here to explain why they settled on that title, and how it's actually important to the movie.

When Margot Robbie revealed the full Birds of Prey title on Instagram last month, it was mostly met with raised eyebrows. Could that long, clunky title really be the official title? Not some cheeky working title that Warner Bros. accidentally approved? Well, that latter question isn't totally inaccurate, Hodson revealed in an interview with Collider. The title started as a joke, but then turned out to perfectly suit the movie, she said:

I don't know if I'm officially allowed to say, but there's no reason why not. It was an unofficial aka, when I wrote the script. I added it about a year or so ago, almost exactly as it is, just as an aka. I didn't think we'd ever use it. We'd always used a working title, so I just had it as a cheeky little thing, on the front cover. And then, when we were talking about a title and brainstorming, we all kept drifting back to that one.

They chose that title because it perfectly nails the tone of the movie, Hodson said, which suggests that Birds of Prey (I'm Not Writing That Whole Thing Again) is an edgy, tongue-in-cheek movie that expands on Harley Quinn's whole persona.

The upcoming project is also rumored to be aiming for an R rating. With the addition of mob-related characters like Black Mask and Huntress, the movie appears to be more of a gritty crime drama, but the title implies that this won't totally be the case.

Robbie will reprise her role as Quinn, and this time she'll be joined by Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, a hero with an ultrasonic scream; Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, a vigilante who's the daughter of a slain mob boss; Rosie Perez as Gotham City's Detective Renee Montoya; Ella Jay Basco as future Batgirl Cassandra Cain; and Ewan McGregor as the villainous Black Mask. Cathy Yan is directing from a script by Hodson.

Birds of Prey (The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) arrives in theaters on February 7, 2020.