Sounds Like Black Mask Will Be The Villain in BIRDS OF PREY

In a new report over at The Wrap, noted superhero scooper Umberto Gonzalez has revealed that the villain in Warner Bros.' forthcoming Birds of Prey movie will be none other than Roman Sionis, or - as he's known in some of Gotham City's darker, unsavory corners - Black Mask.

For those who haven't been keeping track, Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey will revolve around a team of female badasses, including Black Canary, Huntress, Renee Montoya, Cassandra Cain, and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, all of whom will apparently be having some kind of disagreement with Black Mask. This disagreement will probably lead to no small amount of punching, kicking, acrobatics and explosions, and we will be there for it.

For those unfamiliar with the character: when Roman Sionis failed as a family business owner, he blamed everything on far more successful business owners ... one of them being Gotham City's Bruce Wayne. Years after driving his company into the ground, Sionis returned as the sadistic mobster known as Black Mask, at which point he ran afoul of Batman for, y'know, doing crimes and killing people and whatnot.

According to Wikipedia, the New 52 version of the character has a mask with "hypnosis-like mind controlling abilities that extend through the material of the masks that his henchmen wear", which we imagine affords Sionis an unprecedented degree of employee compliance.

Nothing further to report at this time, but stay tuned for further Birds of Prey updates as they roll in. While we're waiting on the next one to arrive: what do you think of Black Mask making the jump to the silver screen? Got any casting pitches? Wish they'd saved the character for the next Bat-movie? Hit us with whatever you're thinking in the comments below.