Cathy Yan got directing advice from Patty Jenkins for Birds of Prey

Cathy Yan got advice from 'Wonder Woman' director Patty Jenkins as she prepared to helm 'Birds of Prey'.

The 'Dead Pigs' filmmaker was nervous about taking control of the action blockbuster - which is a spin-off from 'Suicide Squad' and sees Margot Robbie reprise her role as Harley Quinn - as it is only the second feature-length film that she has directed.

Cathy has revealed that she made a phone call to her DC Extended Universe alumni Patty, 48, to quiz her on how she approached her 2017 box office smash hit.

Speaking to Variety, Cathy said: "I had such institutional support from the get go. But at the same time, every day, I remember being very concerned about, like, I've, never done this before.

"I actually called up Patty Jenkins during prep and I'm like, 'What am I doing?' She told me, 'You've got to remember that no one knows this movie as much as you. That's what makes you the director.' And that was really, really helpful."

Cathy is delighted that female directors are having an influence on the superhero genre, with Patty once again teaming up with actress Gal Gadot for 'Wonder Woman 1984' and Cate Shortland overseeing Marvel's 'Black Widow', which stars Scarlett Johansson as the titular spy.

She said: "It's pretty freaking amazing. Hopefully it does what we all hope it does, which is prove that female directors can do movies of scale.

"I remember when I was just starting off being told, 'Actually, we've been looking for female directors, but there aren't that many that want to do action movies.' I remember thinking, 'I do! I love action movies.' Women are capable of this."

Cathy also discussed herb intention to create a "different type" of Gotham City in the film, which follows Harley Quinn as she assembles a super squad of women to protect Cassandra Cain from Gotham crime lord Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor.

She explained: "I knew I wanted to create a different type of Gotham, through Harley's eyes, that we hadn't really seen before.

"You know, Batman's Gotham is very much those bold high, art deco towers - like downtown Manhattan. I was thinking this Gotham should feel different. It's Harley Quinn's world."