Margot Robbie Says Birds of Prey Will Have a Nonlinear Structure

Birds of Prey will follow the story of Harley Quinn along with other beloved female heroines in the DCEU. With such an unreliable narrator such as Harley herself, it looks like fans will get to hear the story with quite a different structure and order.

In a recent interview with Variety, Margot Robbie talked about the process of developing the movie's story with screenwriter Christina Hodson. "We work in a similar way," she said. "We pulled a lot of references from the comics that we love, from different movies we love."

She said they were gravitating towards not having a "formulaic sort of structure." With Trainspotting being one of their favorite films, Robbie says they would look at a movie like that, and break it down scene by scene. "And funnily enough, it follows a three-act structure to the T, like to the page, to the minute," she added.
Robbie continued, "And so we would look at a lot of films like that, like: ‘How did they achieve this feeling of this beautiful chaos, but within it, everything feels satisfying?'" She says the film's "nonlinear aspect" came from those conversations.

However, the actress pointed out that while Birds of Prey is nonlinear, and that it jumps around, the story will eventually become linear in the third act. "You go on a ride, and it's all pretty chronological from there," she added.

The second trailer for Birds of Prey was just released which shows a glimpse of Harley getting the team together, as well as a Batman name drop; fans also got to see Black Canary's Canary Cry.

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) hits theaters on February 7, 2020.

Also Read: Fans are Losing It Over Black Canary's Canary Cry in the Birds of Prey Trailer