Ewan mcgregor birds of prey series#

Ewan mcgregor birds of prey series#

The story, revolving around a series of events inadvertently set in motion by Brown and landed Sionis in the top seat of Gotham's criminal underworld, garnered criticism not only for the explicit and violent nature of Stephanie's assault but for the way it also seemed to cut her tenure as Robin off at the knees. Back in the early 2000s, Sionis became infamous in the pantheon of Batman's rogues for brutalizing and eventually murdering Stephanie Brown, who had taken over the mantle of Robin at the time during an event storyline called War Games. She's not getting her power from her partner anymore.'Ī misogynist take on Black Mask isn't necessarily a new invention for the film. Harley is trying to find her freedom-the emancipation of Harley Quinn, right? She's trying to find her voice. But as soon as realizes that Harley's man is out of the picture, she becomes a problem. So that was the only reason he ever put up with her, because was all-powerful. He's only ever put up with Harley because she was Joker's girlfriend. He continued: 'It plays into the exploration of misogyny in the film. And then Harley comes into this world and she's uncontrollable. But really I feel like we only ever see him in places he controls. We only see him in his club, in his car, in his apartment-or at the end when he's running around. 'He has to be in absolute control,' McGregor explained. So what is it about Sionis that makes him work as an antagonist for Harley, specifically? And why is their fight so compelling? GameSpot caught up with Ewan McGregor in Los Angeles to get a closer look at the method behind the madness.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's This means that, by pitting the two against each other so directly, Birds of Prey will be blazing a brand-new path in Gotham. Sure, Black Mask has had his fair share of run-ins and team-ups with Gotham's many, many costumed villains, and he's definitely interacted with people like The Joker-and by association, Harley, before-but there's no real precedent for Harley and Sionis throwing down in any meaningful way. Sionis is an interesting pull for a big-screen villain, not only because his own comic book history is a topsy-turvy, bizarre thing in and of itself (seriously, the guy hops back and forth between zealous cult leader to run-of-the-mill gangster every other week) but because his relationship on the page with characters like Harley is virtually nonexistent. (Our Birds of Prey review is also now live and is very positive.) But with Harley and her infamous aesthetic obviously taking center stage, it's certainly easy to forget that not only is the Clown Queen of Crime technically not the villain of this story, she and the rest of the Birds are going to be facing off against a slightly lesser-known (but incredibly dangerous) foe: Roman Sionis, AKA Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor. The early reactions to Birds Of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn are in, and things are looking way, way up for the future of the DCEU.