Jurnee Smollett is currently making heads turn with her wonderful performance in HBO’s Lovecraft Country. The Birds of Prey Actress still has a thing for the superhero genre. She is also known to have played Black Canary in the DC Extended Universe, starring alongside Margot Robbie aka Harley Quinn. Smollett is not done with the DCEU. She wants to come back. But not as a movie star! Jurnee Smollett has hinted at her interest to return as the superhero if DC is ever interested for a TV Show featuring the character.
“It’s no secret how much I love Black Canary,” Junree Smollett told while on a promotional interview for HBO’s Lovecraft Country. “It’s a dream, character and was a dream to play her. If [the] dynamics fell in the right way, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat. I follow Misha wherever she leads me.”
Also Read: Birds of Prey Could Still Get a Sequel
Smollett has been a vocal supporter an ally of Misha Green, creator of the new supernatural HBO series. Misha Green on the other hand has also shown interest in being a part of a DC TV Show. And she would like Jurnee Smollett to be in it as her lead actor.
Misha Green and Jurnee both played Injustice 2 between shoots as a pastime. Misha claims that every time they chose heroes, she would choose Black Canary. In the aforementioned interview, Misha Green could be heard saying this:
“And I just would just do the ‘canary scream’ to win all the time, which would frustrate [Jurnee],” Green said. “So, it was like, ‘It’s kind of kismet and funny that you’re now Black Canary because I was using that character to beat you with this game.'”
It is not the first time that the Black Canary has been considered for her own TV Show. In the Small Screens, she is already a well-known figure. In the 1979 NBC Special Legends of the Superheroes, she has already appeared as a supporting character. Lori Laughlin portrayed the Black Canary in the short-lived TV Series Birds of prey. Alaina Huffman played the superhero in Smallville, where she was once of the recurring cast members.
You May Like: Everything Changing in the Arrowverse From 2021
The one show which has immortalized the Black Canary is The CW Network’s Arrow. Katie Cassidy plays Laurel Lance aka the Black Canary. She is one of the most important characters of the show and has featured in almost all seasons. After Caity Loitz’s Saraha Lance dies, the mantle of the Black Canary falls on the shoulders of Laurel, who lives up to her sister’s reputation as a fierce warrior of Oliver’s Squad. In Season 4, Laurel was killed and Juliana Harkavy came forth as Dinah Drake, the new Black Canary. Katie Cassidy returned as the Black Siren to the show. She was an evil alternate reality version of Laurel and later joined the good guys to become a superhero.
The CW Network is considering adding the spin-off show Green Arrow and the Black Canaries, to the Arrowverse. The show will feature Harkavy’s Dinah as well as Cassidy’s Laurel as the new Black Canaries.
A new Black Canary show might not be a wise decision at the moment. Jurnee Smollett would be overcrowding the scene since there are already two Black Canaries that are about to enter the small screens in the Arrowverse. But having a movie star on-board as a standalone DC project would add some brownie points. We would be up for a Black Canary TV Show made by DC and starring Smollett on the condition that they make it dark and truthful to the source. In other words, we want none of that cheesy new age crap. We want proper comic book representation here!!
If a Black Canary Show does happen featuring her, there has to be some key points of difference to help set the show apart. For starters, we do not need the cheesy Arrowverse tropes. It does not need to be light and formulaic. The villain of the day recipe needs to be thrown out of the window. The Black Canary Show needs to be dark and have a definite premise. It has to be made like Netflix did with Daredevil and The Punisher. Considering Jurnee Smollett wanted DC to head the project, we can expect a little more graphic violence.
Related: Gail Simone Wants To Write Black Canary Spin-Off Movie
Second of all, we need the show to be canon to the larger DC Extended Universe. Maybe midway through the show we see guest appearances from popular DCEU heroes and supporting characters. Jim Gordon and Lois Lane are already there in the DC movies. If DC willed it, they could come to the Black Canary Show and add to its star power element. This would only increase the show’s production value.
Another point of difference will be inclusion of more people of color. The CW’s Arrowverse tried to do it but the attempts to increase the core cast’s diversity only ended up making it look like forced and hap-hazard. We want Smollett’s Black Canary series to be more inclusive.
The last thing we all would agree on is that DC must ensure the show does make it to two or three seasons. We have seen promising DC TV shows being cut short due to unforeseen circumstances. Constantine and Swamp Thing come to mind. A dark DC TV Show on the Black Canary does make a lot of sense. It will attract a lot of viewers if DC plays the dark and gritty card right. But good shows have been cancelled before. We don’t need another very good show that will run for only one season and leave us all hanging with a plot twist at the season finale that will never be answered.
Jurnee Smollett’s latest venture Lovecraft Country is making all the right splashes for all the right reasons. Her portrayal of the Black Canary was appreciated by the fans. Although a POC Black Canary invited a lot of controversy, in the end it was the right thing to do. Maybe the show will bring in Cathy Yan, Director of Birds of Prey, into the fray. We could see all the over the top action and the dark drama-comedy elements the movie touched upon. Who is to say the rest of the DCEU Birds of Prey not make an appearance in this newly pitched show ‘s successive seasons if Season 1 hit it out of the park?!?!
