More developments in the upcoming stand-alone Harley Quinn movie Birds of Prey, with news that Ewan McGregor has been cast as its villain, Black Mask.

Deadline reported on Thursday (November 1st) that McGregor, 47, will portray the Gotham City mob boss (aka Roman Sionis) who doubles up as the leader of the False Face Society gang.

According to the DC comic mythology, Black Mask kills his parents in order to inherent their massive wealth and take over their corporation, but turns bitter and blames others when he eventually loses it all. It’s the first time that the character has ever made a big-screen appearance.

Ewan McGregorEwan McGregor is to portray Black Mask

Former Trainspotting and Star Wars actor McGregor will join Margot Robbie, who will be reprising her role as Harley Quinn from 2016’s DC ensemble film Suicide Squad. McGregor’s girlfriend and ‘Fargo’ co-star, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, will be playing Huntress, and Jurnee Smollett-Bell will portray Black Canary. It's also been rumoured that Rosie Perez will be playing Renee Montoya.

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No release date has been confirmed for either Birds of Prey or for the wider Suicide Squad 2, but the sequel has reportedly been put back to allow for the Harley Quinn stand-alone movie.

Robbie, who is also helping to produce the film, has recently described Birds of Prey as an “R-rated girl gang film including Harley”, promising that it would boast a diverse cast.

“I was like, 'Harley needs friends'. Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film,” Robbie explained to Yahoo! Movies last month. “She's got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn't seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space.”

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