Comedienne Ali Wong is joining the DC Cinematic Universe. She has been cast in a supporting role on "Birds of Prey," which will have Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn from "Suicide Squad."
According to The Wrap, Wong will be working alongside Rosie Perez's character, Detective Renee Montoya, as an associate in the Gotham City's police force. The name of Wong's character, however, has not yet been divulged.
Wong is an American-born actress with Chinese and Vietnamese roots. Her father was born in the U.S. as well, but his parents were immigrants. Her mother, on the other hand, arrived in the U.S. from Vietnam in the 1960s. Wong spent part of her growing up years in Hanoi before graduating with a degree in Asian American studies at the UCLA.
The comedienne is best known for her work on shows like "American Housewife," "Chelsea Lately" and "Best Week Ever." Most recently, she lent her voice to the character Felony for the Disney animated film "Ralph Breaks the Internet."
Meanwhile, DC and Warner Bros have also chosen Chinese-American Cathy Yan to direct the female ensemble from a script written by Christina Hodson. By snagging the job, Yan becomes the first female Asian director to do a big-budgeted Hollywood superhero movie, as per Deadline.
Yan said that when she read the script from Hodson, she knew she could do the job as director. She studied the movie to get a good sense of what she wants to present for her pitch to impress the executives at Warner Bros.
The director said that there would be Asian elements to her treatment of the film. Incidentally, Hodson is also half-Chinese and as the writer, she was also able to infuse Eastern concepts in the material.
"Birds of Prey" is also known as "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" and it's targeted for a February 2020 release in the U.S. The film will center on Harley Quinn (Robbie) forming a group with two female superheroes and a law enforcer after splitting with The Joker.
Harley Quinn, Black Canary (Jurnee Smollet-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and detective Montoya have one goal. They need to save their other member, a young and skilled martial artist named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), from the crime lord Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) and the villain Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina).
Filming will commence in early 2019. "Birds of Prey" has no theater release date in China as of press time.
