You can’t spell superhero girl gang movie without “feminist” — figuratively, of course. But it seems obvious that the Margot Robbie-led Birds of Prey would be a feminist film. It has a mostly female-cast, it is written and directed by women, and it is a movie about a comic book character stepping out from under the shadow of Batman’s most famous rogue. It’s in the title itself: Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. But star Ewan McGregor is confirming that Birds of Prey is a “feminist film” that offers a “real look on misogyny.”

McGregor plays the film’s villain, Black Mask, a character who has never had quite a good relationship with women in the comics. But in an interview with the French-language outlet Premiere (via CinemaBlend), McGregor says that Birds of Prey leans into that and uses the violent, women-hating Black Mask to show the worst sides of misogyny.

“There is in the script a real look on misogyny, and I think we need that. We need to be more aware of how we behave with the opposite sex. We need to be taught to change.

Misogynists in movies are often extreme: they rape, they beat women…and it is legitimate to represent people like that because they exist and they are obviously the worst. But in the ‘Birds of Prey’ dialogue, there is always a hint of everyday misogyny, of those things you say as a man you do not even realize, mansplaining…and it’s in the script in a very subtle way. I found that brilliant.”

McGregor’s description of the movie’s feminist bent is already supported by what we’ve seen in the trailers – not just in Harley ridding herself of her ex-boyfriend and gathering a group of female comrades, but in the film’s bright costume choices. Robbie notoriously hated Harley Quinn’s hot pants and gratuitous shows of skin in Suicide Squad, and her wardrobe in Birds of Prey is already a step up — practical and empowering and so very, very cute.

Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosie Perez, and Ella Jay Basco all seem like they play equally fleshed out parts in Birds of Prey as well, with origin stories and cool costumes to match. Chris Messina joins McGregor on the villains’ side as serial killer Victor Zsasz in Birds of Prey. Cathy Yan directs a script from Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson.

Birds of Prey opens February 7, 2020.

Since the events of Suicide Squad, Batman has disappeared, leaving Gotham City unprotected from crime, and Harley Quinn has left the Joker. When Cassandra Cain, a young girl, comes across a diamond belonging to crime lord Black Mask, Harley joins forces with Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to help protect her.

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