Margot Robbie was as close to the ideal casting choice for Harley Quinn as the DCEU could possibly get, with the actress’ portrayal of the longtime fan favorite generally being very well received by fans. Unfortunately, however, the critical and/or commercial performance of the movies she’s starred in, not to mention the ones that were abandoned, have seen any plans to establish the former Harleen Quinzell as one of the franchise’s major players put on ice.
Following Suicide Squad, where Robbie wound up setting the template for an entire generation’s Halloween costumes, a proposed spinoff with Jared Leto’s Joker and female-centric Gotham City Sirens were both dropped given the underwhelming response to David Ayer’s antihero blockbuster, although a lot of that had to do with the studio taking the film away from him in post-production.
Harley did eventually headline her own solo effort, one that drew widespread praise from both critics and audiences, but Birds of Prey wound up bombing at the box office, even if it went on to become the highest-grossing comic book adaptation of 2020 and now finds itself shortlisted for a pair of Academy Awards.
The idea of having the Joker’s beau rival Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince as the DCEU’s marquee female name might not have gone to plan, then, but in a social media exchange with a fan, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn admitted that he can’t wait for people to see what she’s bringing to the table this time around.
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With Will Smith’s Deadshot and Jared Leto’s Joker absent for the soft reboot, Robbie takes top billing in The Suicide Squad, and she’ll no doubt be on a mission to erase the critical panning of the first installment and the financial disappointment of her last outing under the makeup.