'Lovecraft Country' Star and Showrunner Return to HBO to Join DC Comics Slate

Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green and star Jurnee Smollett are reuniting for a new project [...]

Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green and star Jurnee Smollett are reuniting for a new project in the DC Comics universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Green and Smollett are collaborating on a Birds of Prey spinoff film focused on Dinah Lance, a.k.a. Black Canary. Smollett portrayed the superhero in the 2020 superhero film and will be reprising the role, and Green will be writing the script.

Birds of Prey may have underperformed at the box office — earning $201.8 million worldwide after its February 5, 2020, release — but it was critically well-received and brought some much-needed fun to the sometimes dour DCU. Smollett has spoken about her love of playing Black Canary, saying that she would return to the role "in a heartbeat." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in July, Smollett said "It's no secret how much I loved playing Black Canary, and [I was] so honored to take on that mantle. I would absolutely do it again if given a chance."

Smollett addressed the fan campaigns for a television series about Dinah Lance while speaking with ET's Katie Krause at the 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards. "I think it's just so amazing!" Smollett replied. "To see the fans be so passionate and to see them accept the character and root for the character -- I love Black Canary, I love Dinah Lance, it's such an honor to play her. It means so much to me."

Smollett and Green worked together previously on Lovecraft Country, which was surprisingly canceled after just one season despite getting 18 Emmy nominations. After HBO announced the cancellation, Green took to Twitter to share "a taste of the Season 2 Bible," adding, "Wish we could have brought you #LovecraftCountry: Supremacy. Thank you to everyone who watched and engaged."

Green continued, explaining that "Season 2 of Lovecraft Country begins in a new world, and that new world is a country that sits where The United States used to sit," known as the Sovereign States of America. She also included a map of the United States divided into "Tribal Nations of the West," the "Whitelands," the "New Negro Republic" in the South, and the northeastern "Jefferson Commonwealth." Green revealed that the "Whitelands" is territory overrun by zombies, a price of "The Origin" spell. "The Whitelands now function as a dangerous border between the South, West, and Northern territories." While fans will never see these ambitious plans come to fruition, Green is sure to bring this narrative creativity to a Black Canary script.

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