One of the many things fans are looking forward to seeing in David Ayers’ upcoming Suicide Squad is watching Jared Leto’s Joker interact with his sidekick Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie. These two devious criminals have gotten up to some serious mischief over the years, but it looks like the first time we see them together on the big screen they’re going to be on the outs.
Just a heads up, there are some SPOILERS for Suicide Squad lurking beyond this point. You’ve been warned.
According to Latino Review, who are all over the beat as far as all things comic book movie are concerned, Harley and the Joker have a falling out because she feels guilty over the death of Jason Todd, better known as the Dark Knight’s sidekick Robin. This is our first big glimpse into the relationship between these two in Suicide Squad, and this is going to be interesting to watch play out and what larger impact it has.
Suicide Squad finds the two super villains working together as part of a government controlled unit of incarcerated criminals doing dirty jobs for the Man in exchange for commuted sentences. Watched over by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), the core team includes Joker, Harley, Deadshot (Will Smith), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and Enchantress (Cara Delevigne). If there’s drama between Harley and her boss, that’s going to bring some added pressure to what is already sure to be a tense situation on the verge of exploding into full-blown chaos. They already have a twisted relationship, and this should only make it more fun to watch. We can’t wait.
Jason Todd is the second person to take on the Robin identity in the Batman comics, after Dick Grayson, though the Joker kills him off in the A Death in the Family arc. In fact, according to the LR report, Batman has Todd’s Robin outfit on display in a glass case in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, as a kind of memorial, which seems to answer questions about whether or not he shows up in that movie.
But because we’re talking about comics here, and it’s hard to keep a character dead forever, Jason Todd does eventually come back as the Red Hood. The report also states that Red Hood is now a "priority character" for Warner Bros. and DC, and this indicates that there are likely some big movie plans in store for the antihero.
We’ve seen hints and glimpses of some of what some of the characters from Suicide Squad will look like, but nothing too substantial at this point. Leto took to social media to reveal a picture of himself looking gaunt and pasty in the makeup chair from the Toronto-based set, and he certainly has the basis of the Joker’s appearance down. All he needs now is some green hair and a wild maniac grin and we’re good to go.
Suicide Squad hits theaters everywhere on August 5, 2016.
