The Harley Quinn spinoff movie that DC has in the works, with Margot Robbie set to lead, will be directed by a man. This news is beyond disappointing: The female villain romp will be seen through the lens of a male filmmaker, and with a team of spandex-clad actresses, it seems all too likely that the project will pander to the male gaze.

While the film, which will focus on some of DC’s most famous female villains like Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy, has a female screenwriter in Geneva Robertson-Dworet, it’s sadly going to be handled by “Suicide Squad” director David Ayer, THR reports. The film will reportedly be titled “Gotham City Sirens.”

This is such a bummer of a move on DC’s part. With the plethora of female directors out there (and yes, there are many) who are qualified and no doubt interested in the the job, it’s frustrating — hell, rage-inducing — that the studio would opt instead for a male director. “Suicide Squad” may have been a big money maker, but there’s no denying it was a critical failure.

Robbie is executive producing, but heads of DC’s film arm, Geoff Johns and Jon Berg, also will be involved.

As THR previously reported, “Sources say that Robbie was the impetus for the project, adding that when she got the part for the movie, she dove deep into the comics to learn as much as possible about the character. In the process, she fell for DC’s female characters. She brought on the writer to help develop the project and brought it to Warners, which snapped it up.”

While it’s awesome that Robbie is taking the lead and that this will be a great opportunity to showcase more female comic characters, it’s truly a missed opportunity that DC and Warner Bros. didn’t take advantage of the many female directors out there who could do the job.