A new teaser for the upcoming Harley Quinn animated series has been released, and gives fans their first taste of Alan Tudyk's Joker laugh. DC Universe launched in September 2018, offering fans a range of content from their back catalog and a selection of original programming. Thus far, the majority of the series have been live-action, kicking off with Titans. The show was eventually followed up by its direct spinoff, Doom Patrol, and the unconnected, ill-fated Swamp Thing adaptation. Following in the footsteps of Young Justice: Outsiders, however, the streaming service will also continue its foray into animation, with a Harley Quinn adult animated action-comedy series ordered in late 2017.
The titular anti-heroine will be played by The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco. The Harley Quinn cast includes a number of actors lending their voices to plenty of other DC Comics characters, like Rahul Kohli as Scarecrow, Sanaa Lathan as Catwoman, Christopher Meloni as Commissioner James Gordon, and Jim Rash as The Riddler. Most notably, though, Harley will be joined by her two comic book love interests, Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) and The Joker (Tudyk), as she attempts to branch out from beneath Joker's shadow and establish her own criminal legacy.
Unveiled by DC on their Youtube channel, a brand-new teaser is a combination of clips from the show and a glimpse behind-the-scenes. With Harley described as seeking to become the "Queenpin of Gotham City", the teaser features no shortage of swearing, tongue-in-cheek humor, and bloodthirsty, bone-crunching violence as she goes about her quest. "It's sort of a nexus between no-punches-pulled action and comedy that diverges between high-brow and low-brow," reveals executive producer Patrick Schumacker. In another one of the interviews from the video, Tudyk demonstrates his version of Joker's trademark maniacal laugh. Check out the full video below:
The character of Harley Quinn will also be returning to the big screen. Following her popular turn in the divisive Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie will reprise the role in Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Directed by Cathy Yan, the film will follow a similar arc, with Harley breaking away from The Joker (Jared Leto). The film will also feature Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary. The trio will reportedly team up to take on Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). Birds of Prey is currently undergoing John Wick-inspired reshoots.
Tudyk is no stranger to DC Universe villainy. He recently played Mr. Nobody to considerable acclaim on the aforementioned Doom Patrol series. In Harley Quinn, the actor will pull double duty, with him also voicing Clayface. His iteration of The Joker, however, is what everyone will be watching out for. After all, The Joker is famously voiced by Mark Hamill in numerous animated projects and video games. As such, he's deemed by many fans to be the quintessential Joker - to the point that people still root for him to take on the character in live-action. How Tudyk and his admittedly considerable talents fare overall in the role remains to be seen. Based on his impressive laugh, however, many fans will have their minds put at ease that the character will, at least, be done justice ahead of the show's release.
Harley Quinn will premiere in Fall 2019.
Source: DC