The Batman - Part II could make DC movie history if Matt Reeves' sequel includes Harley Quinn. Joker's love interest has become an increasingly popular figure in pop culture in recent years. The combination of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn in live-action and the Harley Quinn animated series has helped make her one of DC's most recognizable characters. This will continue with Lady Gaga playing Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux. There is even the chance that The Batman 2 could feature another new version of Harley Quinn as the franchise continues to expand its use of Batman's rogues' gallery.
Harley Quinn appearing in The Batman 2 would build on how the first film in the franchise starring Robert Pattinson's Batman concluded. The Batman's ending introduced a new Joker, played by Barry Keoghan, as an inmate at Arkham State Hospital. This has increased the likelihood of Joker being The Batman 2's villain. Since Harley and Joker's stories are closely connected and her origin as a psychologist, the debut of Harleen Quinzel would make sense. Harley Quinn's appearance can allow The Batman 2 to make DC movie history.
Harley Quinn Has Never Been In A Batman Live-Action Movie
Despite all the appearances that the character has made since her debut in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, Harley Quinn has never appeared in a live-action Batman movie. There have been seven opportunities for DC to make this happen before, but Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and The Batman all left her out. The repeated decisions to leave Harley Quinn out of Batman live-action movies are surprising considering her popularity. However, only one of these movies included Joker as the main villain, which makes it a bit more difficult to include his love interest.
Now that Joker could be The Batman 2's villain, Harley Quinn's live-action debut in a Batman movie could finally happen. Matt Reeves could use the character to help explain how Barry Keoghan's Joker escapes from Arkham State Hospital. The Batman 2 could explore the toxic side of their relationship but still use Harley as an agent of chaos during Joker's plans. Furthermore, Harley's historic DC movie appearance could give Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman someone to fight if she also comes back for the sequel.
Bruce Wayne, Joker, & Harley Could Finally Share The Screen In Batman 2
Harley Quinn joining Joker in The Batman 2 could also mean that the three major Batman characters finally share the screen in live-action. Suicide Squad did include Batman (Ben Affleck), Joker (Jared Leto), and Robbie's Harley Quinn, but they did not really interact. The only sequence that involved all three characters was a car chase that kept them in different vehicles and did not allow them actually to talk to each other. While Affleck and Leto shared scenes in Zack Snyder's Justice League and Suicide Squad allowed Robbie to interact with both individually, the DC movies have not let the trio have any meaningful scenes together.
This would likely change if Matt Reeves brings Harley Quinn into The Batman 2. Harley and Joker working together to create chaos in Gotham would bring Batman's attention, and it would be odd if every time Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne found them one of the villains was missing. Making movie history with Harley, Joker, and Batman together also represents an easy way for The Batman - Part II to be different from past DC films.
