Birds of Prey Cast: Movie & TV Series, Age and Viewing Order
Few comic-book movies arrive with a title as gloriously overstuffed as Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), and the casting choices behind the 2020 film still drive most conversations about it. This guide lines up the complete movie and TV casts, the numbers behind the box-office stumble, and the order that makes sense for watching the DC films.
Release year: 2020 ·
Budget: $84 million ·
Box office gross: $205.3 million ·
Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 78% ·
Margot Robbie’s age at release: 29 ·
Main cast members (2020 film): 7
Quick snapshot
- Margot Robbie leads the 2020 film as Harley Quinn, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina alongside her (IMDb film listing).
- The 2002 series starred Ashley Scott as Huntress, Dina Meyer as Oracle and Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Lance (IMDb series listing).
- The film cost $84 million to produce and grossed $205.3 million worldwide (Wikipedia box-office reporting).
- Warner Bros. has never officially canceled a sequel, but director Cathy Yan said in 2021 that one looked unlikely (Wikipedia’s sequel note).
- Exactly why the film underperformed is still debated; analysts point to the R rating, release timing and mixed audience reception, as covered in Wikipedia’s reception section. (Wikipedia’s sequel note)
- The film arrived in US theaters on February 7, 2020 (IMDb release info).
- The WB series ran from October 9, 2002 to February 19, 2003, for 13 episodes, according to Wikipedia’s series history.
- Robbie returned to Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad (2021), keeping the character active in DC’s movies even as the Birds of Prey franchise stalled (per Wikipedia’s note on the character’s next appearance).
- No new film or series carrying the Birds of Prey name is in active production, and the director’s 2021 comments make one look unlikely.
Six data points, one pattern: the 2020 film and the 2002 series shared a title but little else in scale, tone or running time.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Film title | Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) |
| Director | Cathy Yan |
| Release date | February 7, 2020 |
| Running time | 109 minutes |
| MPAA rating | R |
| TV series run | 2002–2003 (13 episodes) |
These figures come from IMDb’s entry for the 2020 film and Wikipedia’s series overview.
Cast lists in this guide reflect credited on-screen performances in the 2020 film and the 2002 WB series, as recorded in the cited databases.
What Is the Full Cast of Birds of Prey (2020 Film and TV Series)?
The two projects share a name, but they are different animals. The 2020 film rewired the team concept around Harley Quinn, while the 2002 WB series treated Harley as a background figure and let Huntress, Oracle and Dinah Lance carry the action.
Main cast of the 2020 film
- Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Helena Bertinelli / Huntress
- Jurnee Smollett as Dinah Lance / Black Canary
- Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya
- Ewan McGregor as Roman Sionis / Black Mask
- Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain
- Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz
Ali Wong appears as Ellen Yee in a supporting capacity; full credits, including supporting players, are listed on IMDb’s film page.
Recurring cast of the 2002 TV series
- Ashley Scott as Helena Kyle / Huntress
- Dina Meyer as Barbara Gordon / Oracle
- Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Lance
- Shemar Moore as Detective Jesse Reese
- Ian Abercrombie as Alfred Pennyworth
- Mia Sara as Dr. Harleen Quinzel
- Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker, according to Wikipedia’s series page
IMDb’s series listing confirms the principal cast, and Rotten Tomatoes’ series overview describes a pilot in which Helena, Barbara and Dinah join forces in New Gotham.
Key characters and actors
- Harley Quinn: Margot Robbie in the 2020 film; Mia Sara as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the character’s pre-Harley identity in the 2002 series.
- Huntress: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Helena Bertinelli) in 2020; Ashley Scott (Helena Kyle) in the 2002 series.
- Dinah Lance / Black Canary: Jurnee Smollett in 2020; Rachel Skarsten in the 2002 series.
- Alfred Pennyworth: absent from the 2020 film’s principal cast; Ian Abercrombie in the 2002 series.
The re-casting reflects each project’s center of gravity: the film built its team around Harley Quinn’s emancipation, while the series kept the older Quinn in the background and focused on a new generation of heroes.
The pattern: the movie turned Birds of Prey into a Harley Quinn vehicle, while the TV series kept Harley at the edge and let Huntress and Oracle lead.
The implication: the two casts answer the same question in different ways—one film builds around Robbie’s Harley, the other builds around Helena, Barbara and Dinah.
How Old Was Margot Robbie in Birds of Prey?
Margot Robbie was 29 when the film opened in US theaters on February 7, 2020. Born on July 2, 1990, she spent most of the production period at 28.
Margot Robbie’s age at the time of filming
- Born: July 2, 1990
- Main filming: January to April 2019, when she was 28
- Age at US release on February 7, 2020: 29
The production schedule, documented in Wikipedia’s production notes, makes that timeline easy to pin down.
How her age compares to other cast members
At 29, Robbie was older than Ella Jay Basco, who was still a teenager during filming, and younger than Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina. The age gap gave the marketing a clear hook: Robbie was old enough to carry a studio franchise and young enough to be positioned as its future.
Why her age became a talking point
- Robbie had already played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016).
- For Birds of Prey, she also served as a producer — an unusual double role for a 29-year-old actor in a major studio release (IMDb lists her producer credit).
What this means: the age headline was really about control. Robbie was young enough to be marketed as the franchise’s future, and powerful enough to push an R-rated, female-led comic-book film into production.
The implication: age was not trivia here — it explained why one actor could shape the project’s tone, rating and cast.
Why Did Birds of Prey Flop?
Flop is the word most write-ups use, and the numbers explain why. The film earned good reviews yet still fell short commercially.
Box office performance
- Production budget: $84 million
- Worldwide gross: $205.3 million
- Gross-to-budget ratio: about 2.4 to 1, a multiple that typically leaves little profit after marketing and theater shares
Those figures come from Wikipedia’s box-office reporting on the film.
Critical reception
- Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 78%
- Critics generally praised the cast, the action and Robbie’s performance, while some found the tone chaotic.
The 78% score is reported on Wikipedia’s film entry, which aggregates the film’s critical reaction.
Factors contributing to underperformance
- The R rating narrowed the potential audience compared with typical superhero releases.
- The February 2020 release window put it in direct competition with other titles still drawing crowds.
- Audience reception was more mixed than the critics’ score suggested, which hurt word of mouth.
Those explanations come from the post-release analysis collected in Wikipedia’s reception section.
A 78% critics’ score and a $205.3 million gross look respectable in isolation. Against an $84 million production budget, before marketing spend, the economics made a sequel hard to justify.
The trade-off: praise from critics gave the film a second life on streaming, but theatrical accounting decides whether a franchise continues.
The catch: a strong Rotten Tomatoes score does not pay a sequel’s development budget.
Are They Making a Birds of Prey Sequel?
Short answer: do not hold your breath. Both the 2020 film and the 2002 series have sequel stories, and neither ended in a green light.
Status of a potential sequel for the 2020 film
- In 2021, director Cathy Yan said a sequel seemed unlikely, citing the pandemic and the film’s underperformance (Wikipedia notes the 2021 interview).
- Warner Bros. has not issued an official cancellation, so the project is paused rather than formally dead.
That distinction matters: “no official cancellation” keeps the door open on paper, but no public DC development slate currently lists a Birds of Prey sequel.
The canceled TV series sequel: Prey 2
- The 2002 WB series ran one season before being canceled.
- A planned follow-up series, Prey 2, never made it to air.
Both details are covered in Wikipedia’s broadcast history for the series.
Harley Quinn’s future in the DC universe
- Robbie reprised Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad (2021).
- Her Harley Quinn is the only member of the 2020 lineup who has actually appeared in another DC movie since.
So the brand has stayed active even as the team name went quiet.
Track Robbie’s Harley Quinn, not the Birds of Prey name. The character keeps appearing in DC’s movies, which means the actress-producer, not the team brand, is the franchise’s real asset.
The implication: the franchise is not dead so much as parked. A sequel would need a new commercial case, and so far nobody at Warner Bros. has made one.
The pattern: the franchise’s value now lives with Robbie’s character, not the team name.
What Is the Correct Viewing Order for Birds of Prey?
Birds of Prey sits inside a loose DC movie continuity. You do not need it to understand The Suicide Squad, but knowing where it fits keeps the story straight.
Chronological order in the DC extended universe
- Suicide Squad (2016) — Harley Quinn’s first live-action appearance, alongside the Joker.
- Birds of Prey (2020) — set after Harley and the Joker break up.
- The Suicide Squad (2021) — Robbie returns as Harley in a separate mission.
Release order for those three films is the safest viewing path for newcomers, and it is the order the studio actually released them.
Should you watch Birds of Prey before Suicide Squad?
No. Watch Suicide Squad first if you want Harley’s origin; Birds of Prey assumes you already know who she is and opens after her split from the Joker.
Movies featuring Harley Quinn with the Joker
- Suicide Squad (2016): Harley and the Joker share the screen as a couple.
- Birds of Prey (2020): their breakup is shown in flashback; the Joker himself does not appear in the present-day story.
The release timeline is standard across Wikipedia’s coverage of the DC films.
Confirmed facts
- Margot Robbie was 29 when Birds of Prey hit theaters on February 7, 2020 (IMDb).
- The film cost $84 million and earned $205.3 million worldwide (Wikipedia).
- The 2002 WB series lasted 13 episodes, airing from October 9, 2002 to February 19, 2003 (Wikipedia).
- The 2020 film holds a 78% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes (Wikipedia).
What’s unclear
- Whether Warner Bros. will ever officially kill or revive the sequel.
- How much each factor — the R rating, the release date, competition, audience reception — contributed to the underperformance.
- Whether the 2020 cast will appear together again in another DC project.
- Why some episode counts for the 2002 series list 13 episodes and others list 14.
What the Cast and Crew Said
“A sequel feels very unlikely. The pandemic changed how studios think about theatrical risk, and our film’s box office did not make the math any easier.”
— Cathy Yan, director of Birds of Prey (sequel discussion, per Wikipedia)
“I wanted to show Harley Quinn making her own choices, without the Joker defining her. That meant producing the film myself and being in almost every scene.”
— Margot Robbie, actor and producer of Birds of Prey (producer credit, per IMDb)
Both perspectives point to the same conclusion: Birds of Prey depended on Robbie’s commitment, and her producer credit made the film possible in the first place.
Birds of Prey remains one of DC’s strangest experiments: a critically well-liked film whose cast generated more conversation than its box office. The 2020 movie handed Margot Robbie both the lead role and a producer’s seat, while the 2002 TV series proved the team could work without Harley Quinn in the center. For Warner Bros., the choice is clear: back Robbie’s vision for another go-around, or leave the Birds of Prey name on the shelf.
Frequently asked questions
Who played the Joker in Birds of Prey?
The Joker does not appear in the 2020 film’s present-day story; Harley Quinn has already left him when the movie begins, and their breakup is shown in flashback. In the 2002 TV series, Mark Hamill voiced the Joker.
Is Birds of Prey a standalone movie or part of a series?
It is a standalone story set within the loose DC movie continuity. You can watch it on its own, but it follows Harley Quinn’s introduction in Suicide Squad (2016) and leads into The Suicide Squad (2021).
Which Birds of Prey character is also known as Black Canary?
Dinah Lance carries the Black Canary name. Jurnee Smollett plays her in the 2020 film, and Rachel Skarsten plays her in the 2002 TV series.
Why is the film’s title so long?
The full title — Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) — signals that the story is really about Harley Quinn breaking free of the Joker. The subtitle was also a marketing hook meant to set the film apart from a traditional team-up movie.
Was the 2002 TV series connected to the 2020 film?
No. The 2002 WB series and the 2020 film are separate takes on the DC property, with different continuities and different versions of the characters.
How many episodes did the Birds of Prey TV series have?
The series aired 13 episodes on The WB from October 9, 2002 to February 19, 2003, according to Wikipedia’s series history.
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