The Birds of Prey are a favorite among DC fans. Batgirl, Black Canary, and Huntress, three of DC's awesomest street-level heroines. There was an attempt at a Birds of Prey TV show in the early 2000's, but that didn't work out too well, but I believe the time is right to reintroduce the Birds of Prey in their own feature film. This would not only expand DC's struggling cinematic universe, but it could be a huge success if they do it right. The reception of Black Widow in Avengers, Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, Mystique in the recent X-Men films, and Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman (and her own film pretty soon, as well) should be enough proof that audiences desperately want more female leads in their superhero films. The Birds of Prey should be a perfect choice, seeing as it's a team of three leading heroines! It seems to be a sure success, but first we need to figure out an important part. For these characters to blow away audiences away, you first need to find the perfect actresses. That's where I come in!

BIRDS OF PREY FANCAST

DIRECTOR --- KATHRYN BIGELOW

(Known for: Point Break, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty)

For an awesome female-led action movie, you need an awesome female director of action movies. Meet Kathryn Bigelow. Director of the original Point Break, a classic action / crime film, Blue Steel, an amazing underrated thriller from 1989, The Hurt Locker, the intense 2009 war film, and Zero Dark Thirty, the political action thriller from not too far back. Basically, every film she's directed has been a critical hit. She can bring the right amount of action and suspense that this film needs to win over audiences, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats while immersing them in all the obligatory superhero action, but with Kathryn directing, it will be a whole new kind of action we've yet to see in a superhero film.

And now the cast.

HELENA BERTINELLI / HUNTRESS --- SUMMER GLAU

(Known for: Firefly, Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Arrow)

Yes, I'm aware Summer already portrays the character Ravager in Arrow, but with the recasting of the Flash, it's clear that the DCEU just doesn't care about the Arrowverse. I'm sure they'd be fine casting Summer as the Huntress, but either way, this is a fancast.

Summer Glau as Huntress is a casting choice that's been on my mind for a while, ever since I first watched the Sarrah Connor Chronicles, where she played a female Terminator. A killing machine that finds it's humanity. It's not all that far from Helena Bertinelli's story, as a deadly vigilante hellbound to avenger her parents' death, who finds that fighting for the greater good is much more important than your own personal vendettas. Helena will more than likely be the main character of the film, not necessarily in terms of focus, as I'm sure all the Birds of Prey will share the film's central focus, but story-wise. I imagine her quest for revenge being a good storyline for the movie, with whoever killed her parents in this version (I have my own idea for an antagonist, we'll get to that later on) being someone big enough that all the Birds of Prey end up coming together to stop him.

Summer is known for playing strong and intimidating female characters, and she's probably the only actress I could picture playing Huntress in this film.

BARBARA GORDON / BATGIRL / ORACLE --- EMMA WATSON

(Known for: Harry Potter, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Noah)

Emma Watson is everything Barbara Gordon needs to be. She's smart, funny, and you just get the feeling that Emma Watson is a really good person. You just have to respect Emma Watson, and the same should go for this film's Batgirl. She may be Oracle already in this universe what with the twenty-year history of Batman, but I hope not. Some would say she's too young, as at this point Batman has already had two Robins. The way I see it is that, Jason Todd must have only died a few years ago, at most. If they make it so Jason only died around a year before the events of Batman V Superman, it would not only contribute Batman's utter angst in that movie as Jason died more recently than not, but also give us a chance for a younger Nightwing and Batgirl. Having a dead Jason whose only a little bit younger than our Nightwing and Batgirl, that means that not too much of Batman's history has passed by us already, which gives us the chance to see classic moments in the history of the Bat Family unfold on the big screen. How lame would it be if we missed all these things? The origin of Tim Drake? Batgirl becoming Orac--- okay, I could personally do without that. They couldn't even get the Killing Joke right with Bruce Timm and Mark Hamill, I can only imagine what Zack Snyder and Jared Leto would do with that.

DINAH LANCE / BLACK CANARY --- KRISTEN BELL


(Known for: Veronica Mars, Heroes, Frozen)

The last of the Birds of Prey, here we have Black Canary. For her, I've chosen Kristen Bell. As you may notice, this is the nerdiest fancast ever. We have someone from Firefly, someone from Harry Potter, and now we have Veronica Mars herself. But in my opinion, this is the perfect ensemble to make the Birds of Prey work, I could see these actresses having a perfect chemistry, whatever the female version of a bromance is. I'm sure there's a word for it.

Kristen Bell has already proven with Veronica Mars that she can be a fun, smart female character, plus she can sing good, as seen in Frozen. You know. Frozen. Because that's the kind of movie we're going for here. Just kidding, just kidding, but if they do go with the singer version of Black Canary and they need her to sing for whatever reason, she's got it handled. After binge-watching Heroes for the first time not too long ago, I was surprised to see Kristen Bell turn up. While her character in that show as, er, not the best in my opinion, I think she still played the role well. I never knew how much I wanted to see Kristen Bell in a superhero movie until seeing her in Heroes. I'm confident Kristen could play a fun character, and that's what Black Canary should be. Fun.

And Dinah Lance's appearance here could easily lead to a Green Arrow cameo, setting him up for the DCEU as well. What I really want to see is, after Birds of Prey, Dinah ending up joining the League in DC's third Justice League film, whatever and whenever that may be, but I'd still want her to be with the Birds of Prey if the film were to get a sequel. I'm sure they'd find a way to work that out.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, time for the antagonists I had in mind for this film!

ROMAN SIONIS / BLACK MASK --- DENZEL WASHINGTON

(Known for: Training Day, The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven)

Now, I know Black Mask is a big Batman villain, and some of you might prefer him to appear in a Batman film instead. With Batman's enormous rogues gallery, there's no way they'd get to every villain, or at least do them justice. My fear is that, in a Batman film, they'd be focusing on getting in too many of his villains, or at least the more spectacular villains, and if they were to use Black Mask, he would just end up being a minor foe, just another generic crime boss Batman ends up fighting. If they were to introduce Black Mask here and give him his own time to shine, then bring him back in a smaller role in one of the Batman films, we would get the best of both worlds. I thought Black Mask would be a perfect antagonist here, potentially being the one who killed Helena's parents. Black Mask is supposed to be such a big player in Gotham's underworld, that it would take all three of the Birds of Prey to take him down.

Denzel would be my personal pick for Black Mask. Firstly, the guy is an AWESOME action star, and he can bring the intimidation factor needed for Black Mask. I think he could nail the role, making Black Mask not just a scary mobster, but also a physical threat as well. This guy could probably go toe-to-toe with Batman himself, and might stand somewhat of a chance. People in Gotham need to fear Black Mask, and having Denzel Washington, the Equalizer himself, be the one behind the mask, well, that would just show this guy is a force to be reckoned with.

SANDRA WU-SAN / LADY SHIVA --- LUCY LIU


(Known for: Charlie's Angels, Kill Bill Vol. 1, The Man with the Iron Fists)

This might be a cliche choice, but Lucy Liu hasn't really been much of a big name lately, which is a shame. I loved her in Kill Bill, and ever since seeing her there I've thought she'd make a great Lady Shiva. Lady Shiva is basically the main foe for the Birds of Prey, so of course you would need her for the film. While I want Black Mask as the main villain, having Lady Shiva appear in a small role would be a good way to set her character up for sequels, where she would take on a much bigger role, as well as a possible chance to establish the League of Assassins for the DCEU, who could be major players if DC utilizes them right.

Lucy Liu already played a similar awesome female assassin as O-Ren in Kill Bill Vol. 1, but it wouldn't have to be too similar. O-Ren in Kill Bill was a Yakuza boss, but if you played up Lady Shiva as a big League of Assassins member, with her making several references to Ra's al Ghul, she could serve an entirely different role here, possibly being the League of Assassins' main enforcer throughout the DCEU. Remember, the League of Assassins think that what they're doing is for the greater good. Lady Shiva shouldn't be a straight-up villain, but a loyal soldier for Ra's al Ghul, who she sees as a hero.

Lady Shiva's role would be small here, but she would definitely stir up trouble for the Birds of Prey. Remember, she'd return as a villain in the sequel, where perhaps we see the Birds of Prey go up the League of Assassins themselves.

Well, that's my basic fancast for a Birds of Prey movie. Of course, Ben Affleck would probably cameo as Batman, and since Barbara is here, J.K. Simmons would probably have to pop in as Commissioner Gordon.

I hope you liked this cast here, I've put a lot of thought into it. I'm a rookie here, so please leave some constructive criticism down below if you have any for me. It'd be much appreciated. Also, if you know what the female equivalent of a bromance is, please share?