Fresh off congratulating the Suicide Squad makeup department for its Oscar win, director David Ayer is hard at work developing his next project for the DC Extended Universe, Gotham City Sirens. Based on the comic series of the same name, the film already has Margot Robbie attached to reprise her role as Harley Quinn. Ayer has also teased that Catwoman and Poison Ivy will join Harley Quinn, as they did in the comics.

Not much is known about Gotham City Sirens, as it remains in the very early stages of development. However, Ayer recently dropped a major hint as to who may be the main villain in the film, and it’s a well-known bad guy for longtime fans of the Batman comics and other DC properties: Black Mask.

Ayer posted a photo of Black Mask to his Twitter account on Monday, appearing to tease him as the main villain in Gotham City Sirens. The photo is a shot of Black Mask from the Batman: Under The Hood comic, sitting with a drink in his hand and saying “I heard. It’s just the street stuff. It’s not worth my time.” A violent crime boss with an affinity for masks in general, Black Mask has long been one of Batman’s most formidable adversaries and part of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery.

pic.twitter.com/sfkjNeSIHW— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) February 27, 2017

Black Mask has additionally been a notable nemesis for Catwoman in past comic book appearances, and has also crossed paths with Poison Ivy. With the two appearing likely to join Harley Quinn in Gotham City Sirens, Black Mask’s rich DC comics history since his 1985 debut would make him a worthy foe for the trio in cinematic form. Black Mask has never officially been portrayed in a DC live-action feature-length film, but did appear in the animated features Batman: Under The Red Hood and Batman: Bad Blood.

If he does turn out to be the villain in Gotham City Sirens, Black Mask would present Ayer with a big opportunity for the DCEU. He is a unique villain in terms of both his striking appearance and his status as one of Gotham City’s most dangerous crime lords. Though he generally wears a mask resembling a human skull, Black Mask has had a number of visual incarnations over the years, giving the DCEU plenty of options as to how to depict the character. If Gotham City Sirens ends up employing the same Oscar-winning makeup team from Suicide Squad, the character will be in good hands.

As intriguing as Black Mask would be as a villain, Ayer also has his work cut out for him in terms of improving upon Suicide Squad’s drawbacks - namely, its convoluted, sometime illogical plot. Memorable characters can only take a movie so far; while Black Mask would offer loads of potential as a DCEU villain, Gotham City Sirens still needs to tell a coherent and compelling story to make it a success. But if Black Mask does indeed turn out to be Gotham City Sirens’ main villain, Ayer made a strong choice.

Next: Are Women The Future Of The DCEU?

Source: David Ayer

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