WIRE Buzz: Jared Leto definitely not in Birds of Prey; Deathstroke series premiere date; more

Well, it's official: Jared Leto's Joker won't appear in next month's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). The character won't be receiving a small cameo role, either. 

Margot Robbie, who is returning to play the version of Quinn from 2016's Suicide Squad, confirmed this during a lengthy profile in Variety. The Bombshell actress went on to praise Joaquin Phoenix's interpretation of Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime, but stated that where director Todd Phillips went for more realism in Joker, Birds of Prey strives for more fantasy.

“I feel like the Joker film was much more grounded. Ours is different. It’s heightened," she said.

Written by Christina Hodson (Bumblebee), the comic book film finds Harley breaking up with the Joker and joining forces with Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Together, the team will help protect Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from Gotham City's most feared crime boss, Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).

Rosie Perez, Ali Wong, and Chris Messina co-star.

Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey flutters into theaters Friday, February 7.

Leto returns to the world of comic book cinema this summer in Sony's Morbius adaptation.

CW Seed's animated Deathstroke series finally has a concrete premiere date of Monday, January 6, which is less than a week away! The announcement was made via Seed's Instagram account.

Michael Chiklis (best-known for his turn as Ben Grimm in two of Fox's live-action Fantastic Four movies, as well as FX cop drama The Shield) is lending his vocal talents to the titular character of Slade Wilson. 

Minae Noji and Chris Jai Alex have also been confirmed to co-star.

Officially titled Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, the upcoming show is written by J.M. DeMatteis (Constantine: City of Demons), directed by Sung Jin Ahn (Niko and the Sword of Light), and executive produced by Sam Register (DC Super Hero Girls); Greg Berlanti (Arrow); and Sarah Schechter (Supergirl). 

We didn't think the fairy tale of "Hansel & Gretel" could get any darker, but that's before we saw the new trailer for Gretel & Hansel, a new take on the classic story from director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat's Daughter).

Written by Rob Hayes (Chewing Gum), the film stars Sophia Lillis (It Chapter Two) and Samuel Leakey (MotherFatherSon) as the titular sister-brother duo, who find themselves in the clutches of an evil witch named Holda (Silent Hill's Alice Krige).

Watch the new trailer below:

While there are definitely supernatural elements to the movie, it looks like Perkins is going for a more grounded approach in his retelling. For example, the witch's home in this version is not made of gingerbread and candy as it is in the original folk tale.

Here's a new poster as well:

Credit: Orion Pictures

Gretel & Hansel wanders into theaters on Friday, January 31.