It’s official: Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Jared Leto’s Joker have called it quits. Teases for the upcoming Birds of Prey have made that abundantly clear. Harley will be going through the typical coping patterns associated with breakups: investing in a pet hyena, throwing knives at pictures of his face, throwing down Cheez Wiz and having more girls’ nights.
But hey, if green hair and a maniacal twinkle in his eye is Harley’s type, she has options here. Could she go for Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck from the Joker movie next? Here’s what Margot Robbie says:
I think they exist in two very different worlds, Todd Phillips's Gotham and this Gotham – very different. I don't know how you'd bridge that gap. She'd drive him insane. She'd be on the other side of the fridge, like 'here.' 'J-puddin, whatcha doin?' And he’s like ‘'I just need a minute, I’m going through a lot of shit.’
These are good points. Although the two characters technically share the same zip code, they kind of live in alternate realities. Whereas Todd Phillips’ 11-time nominated Joker is grounded in a gritty reality of city life, “Harleyvision” is much more whimsical and highlighter pink. Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker was made to be purposely separate from the likes of the DCEU.
During the Birds of Prey London press junket, Margot Robbie gave Capital FM this hilarious response that paints a pretty colorful picture of how Arthur Fleck and her Harley would interact. Robbie went right into her DC character’s voice, talking about how she would absolutely drive Todd Phillips’ Joker insane with her pandering.
After seeing the Best Picture nominee, it can safely be said that Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck may not be in the right headspace to be in a relationship right now. Joker had audiences guessing about whether he murdered his last girlfriend after all (played by Zazie Beetz).
The whole point of Jared Leto’s Joker sitting out Birds of Prey was to give audiences a different kind of story about Harley following 2016’s Suicide Squad. Margot Robbie, who is also a producer on the film, said this about why Quinn and Joker are not an item in her upcoming return to the character:
It was either going to be a complete Harley and Joker story or Joker has got to be out of the picture. I really wanted to see Harley in a girl gang and I felt there was a huge gap in the market for a girl gang ensemble action film. I felt like no one was doing that and I couldn't understand why, especially a comic book movie.
Margot Robbie will be swinging her bat with Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary, Rosie Perez’s Renee Montoya and Ella Jay Basco’s Cassandra Cain. The unapologetic R-rated action flick has been graced with positive first reactions since it premiered this week. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg called it “a hell of a lot of fun.”
If anything, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker are certainly crowd-pleasing characters on the big screen! So they have that in common. See Birds of Prey in theaters on February 7.
