In an alternate universe somewhere, much like the one the DCEU is introducing to shake things up in The Flash, there’s a world where Jared Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn found themselves on very different paths from the ones they eventually ended up walking.
This timeline would have seen David Ayer retain creative control over Suicide Squad, and Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime would have been received much more enthusiastically thanks to an increased amount of screen time. Fresh from the success of the acclaimed antihero ensemble piece, Ayer would have then reunited with Robbie for Gotham City Sirens, introducing Catwoman and Poison Ivy into the DCEU.
From there, the franchise’s power couple would return for their own spinoff written and directed by Focus and Crazy, Stupid, Love duo Glen Ficarra and John Requa, an old school crime caper that just happened to feature two iconic comic book characters in the lead roles. Unfortunately, however, what we got instead was Leto’s Joker being exiled until the Snyder Cut and Birds of Prey bombing at the box office.
The two deranged lovebirds shared so few meaningful interactions that the surface of their dynamic was barely scratched, but we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us the actor was getting an all-new look in Justice League before it was confirmed – that should Leto return to the DCEU for any additional projects, he wants Robbie’s Harley by his side.
Birds of Prey may have nixed plans for the former Harleen Quinzell to be one of the franchise’s marquee names, but she does take top billing in The Suicide Squad, and with the shared universe in the midst of a renaissance of sorts, an eventual Joker and Harley Quinn team-up isn’t completely off the table by any means.