After delivering Suicide Squad to audiences last year as the third installment of the DC Extended Universe, director David Ayer decided to turn his attention to Gotham City Sirens, which will see Harley Quinn teaming up with Poison Ivy and Catwoman like she did in the comic book series of the same name. Updates on this spinoff have been few and far between, but following the report earlier this week that Warner Bros is moving forward with a Joker and Harley Quinn movie, it's been rumored that the clownish couple's cinematic adventure is replacing Gotham City Sirens. Well, it turns out that may not be the case, as Gotham City Sirens allegedly remains a priority for Warner Bros and DC.
Weeks after it was rumored that a Joker and Harley Quinn movie was in the works, word broke on Wednesday night that Crazy, Stupid, Love duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are being eyed to write and direct the feature, which would pair Jared Leto and Margot Robbie's versions of the Batman villains back together after Suicide Squad. But along with this big news came claims that this was filling the spot that Gotham City Sirens once held. Well, Forbes has received confirmation to the contrary, with a source from Warner Bros. saying the following:
Harley, Catwoman and Poison Ivy are super important to us-- And a super cool team, too!
For those keeping track at home, this now means, if you take this source at his or her word, that The Joker and Harley Quinn both have reportedly three appearances coming up in the DCEU. First there's this Mad Love-sounding Joker/Harley movie, and then there's Gotham City Sirens, which will primarily focus on Harley getting into shenanigans with Poison Ivy and Catwoman, but will involve Joker in some capacity. In addition, the two villains are expected to appear in Suicide Squad 2, which isn't terribly surprising given that they both made their DCEU debut in the first movie and that Harley has been tightly connected with the team in the comics since the start of the New 52. That said, Suicide Squad ended with Joker breaking Harley out of Belle Reve, so it will be interesting to see how these two become intertwined with Task Force X again.
Of course, this wasn't the only huge Joker-related development of the week. Just a day before the Joker/Harley Quinn movie news broke, it was reported that DC and Warner Bros have a Joker origin story in the works. But this will not involve Jared Leto reprising the Clown Prince of Crime. Instead, it will part of a new DC films banner being put together that will allow filmmakers to tell one-off big stories that aren't connected to the DCEU. A new actor will be hired to wear the purple suit, and this story is intended to be set in a gritty 1980s Gotham City.
Of course, the Batman-related cinematic projects don't end there. Even ignoring the Caped Crusader's appearance in Justice League this November, Warner Bros also has The Batman, Batgirl and Nightwing in development. To summarize, it's a great time to be a Batman fan right now, and an even better time if you love his mirth-obsessed adversaries.
