'Birds Of Prey' Is Getting Some New Action Scenes With Help From 'John Wick' Director Chad Stahelski

The forthcoming DC Comics movie Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) has been done shooting for a while, but after working its way through post-production, a round of additional photography is commencing shortly. But when director Cathy Yan gets back to work on the movie starring Margot Robbie as Suicide Squad member Harley Quinn, she'll have some help crafting new action scenes.

John Wick director Chad Stahelski is bring brought in to help design and shoot some new action scenes as part of the second unit. While it might seem unusual for such a high profile filmmaker to be brought in to oversee action scenes for the second unit, it's common for action sequences to be completed away from principal photography. And in this case, it just so happens that his stunt company 87 Eleven has been involved with the film since production began. Find out more below.The Hollywood Reporter has word on Chad Stahelski crafting the new Birds of Prey action scenes. The stuntman-turned-filmmaker will be taking an uncredited role on the production during additional photography. While beefing up the action is common in reshoots, it does make us wonder why new action scenes are needed. Was the action not plentiful enough already? Is there a chance the action that Cathy Yan delivered in her studio film directorial debut was not as satisfying as the studio hoped? That's not entirely clear, but either way, Stahelski can only help the situation.

There is a concern that studios have a problem entrusting up and coming filmmakers, especially female directors, with large scale action sequences. Some of it has to do with experience, but there are times when it has to do with the continued sexism that exists in Hollywood. But often times even untested male filmmakers aren't allowed to craft action scenes themselves, because there's a whole team responsible for creating those sequences even before a director is hired. Either way, Yan will be working with Stahelski on these new action scenes, so she's not being left out in the wind.

Aside from Stahelski's skills as a stuntman, who previously worked as Keanu Reeves's stunt double on The Matrix, he's also done second unit production on movies like The Hunger Games and Captain America: Civil War, so his expertise has helped plenty of big Hollywood productions outside of his own work as a filmmaker. And if you need anymore evidence of that, just see John Wick.

As of now, we're still in the dark about much of the story at the center of Birds of Prey. All we know is that the movie has Margot Robbie returning as Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe that Suicide Squad occupies. She ends up needing to gather a group of female DC Comics characters like Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, a hero with an ultrasonic scream, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, a vigilante who's the daughter of a slain mob boss, to take down a crime lord called Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor.

Hopefully we'll be getting a teaser trailer for Birds of Prey soon. The movie arrives on February 7, 2020.