Birds of Prey’s official trailer dropped but there is still much we don’t know and speculation continues.
Everyone wonders if the Joker is in it, for instance. He is — kinda, sorta — but by all accounts, Jared Leto won’t be. (Related: Jared Leto Reveals Whether or Not He Will Return as Joker in Birds of Prey)
Another thing that has people guessing is Black Mask. The trailer gave viewers their best look yet at Ewan McGregor as the top bad guy. He has a club and strings up some victims but still no mask the Batman villain is known for.
Our readers might remember a story a while back showing McGregor behind the scenes with no sign of any kind of mask. We concluded one might show up in the film but we weren’t sure. (Related — Birds of Prey: New Set Photos Show Bloody Ewan McGregor as Black Mask – Still No Iconic Mask!)
It turns out we didn’t look deep enough. A set of screenshots from footage courtesy of Hollywood Pipeline show someone next to Ella Jay Basco, who plays Cassandra Cain, in the backseat of a car. He has a hand on her shoulder and his face is covered by a dark-colored facemask.
The Harley Quinn Updates fan account following BOP’s progress tweeted the stills back in March. Since the mask doesn’t cover his mouth, a few users replied, believing the mask will be finished with CGI.
Harley trying to rescue Cassandra Cain from Black Mask? We love that pic.twitter.com/x7mYd2WpVZ
— Harley Quinn Updates (@HarleyMovieNews) March 4, 2019
Seems like Black Mask’s mask will be half CGI which makes sense. Awesome.
— Sharon (@Sharito742) March 4, 2019
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Maybe it’s CGI, so the mouth can move
— Emmanuel Nyitambe (@nyangejr) March 4, 2019
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We don’t know for sure if the masked man is Ewan McGregor but our best-educated guess says it is. One, we know what character is fond of masks (Black Mask). Two, we know he wants Cain because she possesses incriminating personal effects of his, at least he did in a controversial subplot that might get scrubbed. (Related: Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey Reshoots to Remove Lewd Storyline and Tone Down Villain)
Finally, judging by the color of his sleeve, it is McGregor. What he wears appears to be violet which matches the outfit McGregor walks around in between takes.
New look at Ewan McGregor as Black Mask and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain on the set of #BirdsOfPrey. (📸: @bopupdates) pic.twitter.com/NzzLkTcxr0
— Birds of Prey (@BirdsofPreyDC) March 4, 2019
So how did this escape our notice for so long? Chalk it up to a lapse in due diligence but, to be fair, this leak didn’t make very many waves and was lost in the chaos of all the other drama going on with the production.
Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan, is DC’s next film after Joker and comes out in February next year.
Now that you know for sure Black Mask will have his requisite headgear, are you more excited to see the movie? Drop a line below.