Cathy Yan is poised to make history. Deadline reports that the “Dead Pigs” director has been tapped to direct Warner Bro. and DC Entertainment’s upcoming Harley Quinn pic. Still untitled, the “girl gang movie” will feature Margot Robbie’s baseball bat-wielding “Suicide Squad” character among others. A deal has yet to be finalized, but it’s expected that Yan “will become the second female filmmaker to join the DC club after ‘Wonder Woman’s’ Patty Jenkins, and the first female Asian director ever tapped to direct a superhero film,” the source details.
Jenkins, of course, led “Wonder Woman” to critical success and over $821 million at the box office. A sequel for the Gal Gadot-starrer — co-written and directed by Jenkins — is slated for release November 1, 2019.
Deadline describes Yan’s offer as a “bold bet for Warner Bros’ Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada who oversee DC under Toby Emmerich,” detailing how “Yan got the job over numerous well established male directors.” The source also notes that “she is taking this giant leap with just one small budget indie movie under her belt.” Her first feature, “Dead Pigs,” premiered at Sundance in January and took home the World Cinema Dramatic Award For Ensemble Acting at Sundance.
It’s important to acknowledge that this trajectory is not especially unusual for male directors. Colin Trevorrow, for example, scored “Jurassic World” and a budget of $150 million after making “Safety Not Guaranteed” for $750,000. Gareth Edwards took the reins on $160 million “Godzilla” after he made “Monsters” with a budget of $500,000.
“Despite being a new talent, Yan’s presentation for [the project] was exceptional, and Robbie held firm to her desire for this film to be directed by a woman,” the source reveals.
The recent Oscar nominee’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, is producing the pic along with Sue Kroll and her Kroll & Co. Entertainment and Bryan Unkeless of Clubhouse Pictures.
A vocal #TimesUp supporter, the “I,Tonya” star and producer has a slew of projects in the pipeline including a female-led Wall Street series and a series retelling Shakespeare’s plays from the perspective of their female characters.
This new Harley Quinn project is “based on ‘Birds of Prey,’ which in the DC universe teams Quinn with several other crime fighters, namely Black Canary, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), and Huntress,” the source explains. “It is not confirmed if all of them will be characters in the film.”
As for the timeline, this project seems like it will start filming by late 2018 or early 2019.
When we asked Yan what advice she’d give other female filmmakers, she said, “Don’t let the fear and the odds consume you. Don’t blame the system — change the system. Hire women in every position that you can, because of their talent,” she urged. “On ‘Dead Pigs,’ at least half of my department heads were women. My agents are all women. As a director, you have the power to pick the people you surround yourself with.”
The former Wall Street Journal reporter wrote and helmed a number of shorts — including “According to My Mother” and “Down River” — prior to making “Dead Pigs.” The well-reviewed pic follows the intersecting lives of a pig farmer, salon owner, busboy, architect, and rich girl as thousands of dead pigs float down the river towards Shanghai.
