Margot Robbie
Things have always been a little weird with James Gunn’s transition into the DCU, as while he’s presented as “pure fun,” he’s singled out a few characters that are exceptions, namely two of his own projects, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker .
Gunn said that Viola Davis will continue to play Amanda Waller and John Cena will still play the Peacemaker in the DCU, which raises questions about the other characters directly connected to those two that they co-starred with. And there’s no bigger question than what happens to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.
Robbie has now appeared in three films as Quinn, two Suicide Squads where she starred alongside Davis’s Waller and with Cena’s Peacemaker in the second. She then had her own solo/group feature, Birds of Prey. But now she was asked the question directly, would she continue to play Harley Quinn in the DCU, and she gave as straightforward an answer as you can give without coming across as harsh or unkind. To Variety:
“I always wanted Harley to be a character that would be passed on to other actresses to play, as so many iconic male characters are. That was always the dream for her.”
“Harley is so much fun and can go in so many different directions. You put her in somebody else’s hands and it’s like, “What are they going to do with her?” The options are endless.”
Suicide Squad
This is a very different response than we’ve seen with other DCU characters. We know Gunn met with The Rock and Henry Cavill to tell them they were going in different directions, which meant they wouldn’t be reprising their roles as Black Adam and Superman, which was pretty much right after The Rock was revealed and Cavill an apparent plan to wrestle control of the DCEU. Zachary Levi was pretty adamant that he still wanted to be Shazam, which doesn’t seem to be happening. Jason Momoa seems almost excited to ditch Aquaman to possibly play Lobo. Gal Gadot seemingly tried to create the Mandela Effect a new Wonder Woman project in the DCU that isn’t actually real.
But Robbie’s response here is very kind, a way of saying that she’s done with the role and that others can take it. This is also in the context of Lady Gaga playing Harley Quinn in the Joker sequel, although it will be disconnected from the DCU.
Harley Quinn’s future at DC after Joker 2 and her animated series is unclear. Matt Reeves’ Batman teased the Joker at the end of the film, but it seems unlikely that Harley will join him in a sequel. The DCU has a Batman project in the works, The Brave and the Bold, but we haven’t heard anything about a new Joker, much less Harley Quinn. And now that we know Robbie’s Harley, who Gunn worked with in the past, won’t be coming back, she might be on ice for a while.
As for Robbie, I mean, she’s basically the biggest actress in Hollywood right now after the success of Barbie, and she can do whatever project she wants. And after portraying Harley in three different films to varying box office and critical success, it’s no wonder she wants to step away from the character after eight years.
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