Star Wars legend to play Black Mask in Margot Robbie Suicide Squad spin-off Birds of Prey

The entire Suicide Squad universe is undergoing a reboot with the announcement that James Gunn will write (and potentially direct) the sequel, but Robbie has been forging ahead with her own spin-off project.

Birds of Prey will feature some of Gotham’s most notorious female villains, but, rather like Suicide Squad, they will be shouldering anti-hero roles.

Robbie has already brought in Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead who will be playing Black Canary and Huntress, as well as Rosie Perez as tough cop Renee Montoya.

But the main villain has been kept under wraps until now.

Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor is in final talks to play iconic DC villain The Black Mask.

While everything remains up in the air over in a galaxy far, far away, the Scottish actor is keeping himself very busy.

As well as the high-profile lead in Doctor Sleep, the hugely-anticipated sequel to Stephen King’s The Shining, McGregor will be tackling another dark role.

Fitting The Wrap just broke the news: “Ewan McGregor is in final negotiations to play Gotham City mob boss and Batman foe Black Mask in Warner Bros’ Birds of Prey, individuals with knowledge of the project exclusively tell TheWrap.”

Black Mask was last seen on screen in the 2013 computer game Batman: Arkham Origins.

Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the villain debuted in 1985’s Batman issue #386.

The Black Mask is yet another of Gotham’s extraordinarily unhinged and psychotically sadistic crime bosses who, unsurprisingly, has a mask fixation and enjoys a spot of torture along the way.

It will be a far cry from McGregor’s latest cosy turn as the title character in the Winnie The Pooh family film Christopher Robin.

The Black Mask story tells how irresponsible cosmetics heir Roman Sionis hated and then murdered his neglectful and social climbing parents. Unfortunately when he inhereited their company he bankruted it with poor decisions and, in his fury and bitterness turned to crime and focussed all his resentment and loathing on Bruce Wayne.

His alter-ego’s name, image and obsession with masks is derived from his hatred of his shallow parents and the masks everyone wears.

It remains unclear, though, whether Wayne or his alter-ego Batman will appear in Birds of Prey.

ORIGINAL STORY IN THE WRAP