The Suicide Squad director James Gunn says he's discussed Harley Quinn's DCEU future with Margot Robbie. A popular animated and comic book character since debuting on Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, the supervillain formerly known as Dr. Harleen Quinzel made her long-awaited big-screen bow in 2016’s Suicide Squad with Robbie in the role.
Though Suicide Squad proved to be a divisive film among fans and critics, most agreed that Robbie knocked it out of the park with her portrayal of the unhinged Harley Quinn. DC was clearly pleased with Quinn’s debut at any rate, as the character was soon elevated to the DCEU A-list, getting her own showcase in Birds of Prey (alongside other female DC characters Huntress and Black Canary) as well as a featured role in the upcoming sequel The Suicide Squad. It remains to be seen if the other announced Quinn movie Gotham City Sirens ever happens, but even if that project remains shelved, it seems almost certain that Quinn will be back in some capacity in some future DCEU project.
Fans of Robbie and her creation Harley Quinn are certainly eager to know when and if the character will make her next DCEU appearance, and her The Suicide Squad director Gunn only added to their curiosity with comments he made during a recent Q&A posted on Instagram stories (via CBR). Asked if he is working on any DC projects beyond the Suicide Squad sequel and its spinoff show Peacemaker, Gunn replied "Maybe just a little. One toe dipped in." Another fan asked if he will be working with Robbie as Harley Quinn again and he tantalized everyone with the reply “Margot and I discussed this just the other day. We will have to see what happens!" See Gunn's posts in the space below:
Gunn of course took over as writer and director of the Suicide Squad sequel after DC and Warner Bros. elected to move on from David Ayer (who didn’t help his case much by blaming the first movie’s problems on studio meddling). At least one character from Gunn’s take on Suicide Squad, John Cena’s Peacemaker, so impressed Warner Bros. brass that he is already getting his own show on HBO Max with Gunn writing and directing. Gunn of course also has MCU duties to handle as he is writing and directing the upcoming sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Indeed Gunn is a busy man, but it sounds like he’s ready to add more to his plate, with his vague indications about dipping his toe into another DCEU project and his further tease of a possible future Harley Quinn project with Robbie. Obviously a lot depends on how The Suicide Squad performs when it comes out in theaters and on HBO Max. There’s also the question of how DC wants to handle Harley Quinn’s future after Cathy Yan’s take on the character in Birds of Prey. Unfortunately, Birds of Prey underperformed at the box office, but this wasn’t necessarily the fault of Yan who succeeded in taking the Harley Quinn character beyond pigtails, hot-pants and being The Joker's girlfriend. It’s of course also fair to ask how long Robbie wants to go on playing the character of Harley Quinn after bringing her to life three times on the big screen.
Clearly much is up in the air when it comes to Robbie’s take on Harley Quinn, but it sounds like Gunn and Robbie have a good relationship if they’re talking about doing more together down the road, whether that be a follow-up to The Suicide Squad or a completely different project. It will at any rate be interesting to see if DC ever has enough faith in Harley Quinn to give her a true standalone film, or if they think she is someone who always has to appear in an ensemble movie.
Source: James Gunn/Instagram (via CBR)
