The somber and ominous aura that surrounds Gotham City just turned several shades darker as it's been confirmed that TRAINSPOTTING and BIG FISH actor Ewan McGregor is joining the cast of BIRDS OF PREY as its villain Black Mask. Directed by Cathy Yan (DEAD PIGS, ACCORDING TO MY MOTHER), the upcoming female-led DC comic book adventure finds Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) having recently split with The Joker and looking to get in some quality girl time. As the events of the film play out, Quinn will join forces with Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to save the life of a young girl, Cassandra Cain, from an evil crime lord known to those who fear him as Black Mask (McGregor).
Roman Sionis, otherwise known throughout the DCU as Black Mask, is a Gotham City mob boss who heads up the False Face Society gang. In the comics, Sionis murdered his wealthy parents in cold blood as part of an effort to assume control of their corporation. After making several brand-damaging mistakes, Sionis found that he was not well-suited for the life of a ruthless businessman. In time, he began targeting Gotham's elite while blaming them for his shortcomings, including one Bruce Wayne and his Wayne Enterprises banner.
McGregor is certainly an inspired casting choice for the part of Black Mask, as the MOULIN ROUGE! and STAR WARS alum is no stranger to giving his all for the cameras. Recently, Ewan played an adult Christopher Robin for the Marc Forster-directed live-action Disney film CHRISTOPHER ROBIN. The sugary sweet performance was celebrated by those who adored the film, though I'm sure that fans of the Scotland-born actor will welcome him returning to a more sinister side of cinema with BIRDS OF PREY.
Recently, while speaking to a crowd at the U.S-China Entertainment Summit, Yan confirmed that BIRDS OF PREY will be rated R, and that casting agents are still on the hunt for a half-Asian actor to play the part of Cassandra Cain, otherwise known as the conflicted heroine Orphan.