Margot Robbie
Things have always been a bit weird with James Gunn’s transition to the DCU, as while it is pitched as a “clean slate,” he has roped off a few characters that are exceptions, namely two from his own projects, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.
Gunn has said that Viola Davis will continue to play Amanda Waller and John Cena will still play Peacemaker in the DCU, which raises questions about the other characters directly attached to those two that they co-starred with. And there is no larger question than what is happening with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.
Robbie has now starred in three movies as Quinn, two Suicide Squads where she starred opposite Davis’s Waller, and with Cena’s Peacemaker in the second one. Then she had her own solo/team-up feature, Birds of Prey. But now she’s been asked the question directly, would she keep playing Harley Quinn in the DCU, and she gave about as clear an answer as you can give without coming off as harsh or ungrateful. To Variety:
“I always wanted Harley to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses to play, the way there are so many iconic male characters. That was always the dream for her.”
“Harley’s so fun and can go in so many different directions. You put her in someone else’s hands, and it’s like, “What are they going to do with her?” The options are endless.”
Suicide Squad
This is an answer far different than what 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 would not reprise their roles as Black Adam and Superman, which was almost immediately after The Rock and Cavill unveiled an apparent plan to wrestle control of the DCEU. Zachary Levi was quite adamant that he wanted to still be Shazam, which does not appear to be happening. Jason Momoa seems almost excited to ditch Aquaman to probably play Lobo instead. Gal Gadot seemingly tried to Mandela Effect a new Wonder Woman project into existence in the DCU that is not actually real.
But Robbie’s answer here is very kind, a way to say she’s done with the role and others can pick it up. This is also in the context of Lady Gaga playing Harley Quinn in the Joker sequel, albeit that will be disconnected from the DCU.
The future of Harley Quinn at DC past Joker 2 and her animated series is unclear. Matt Reeves’ The Batman teased Joker at the end of the film, but it seems unlikely Harley would 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 previously worked with, isn’t coming back, she may be on ice for a while.
As for Robbie, I mean, she’s essentially the biggest actress in Hollywood at the moment in the wake of Barbie’s success and can do any project she wants. And after playing Harley in three different movies of varying box office and critical success, it’s not surprising she wants to move on from the character after eight years.
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