As far as the DC live-action universe goes, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is one of its biggest stars. The DC villain made her debut in David Ayer's Suicide Squad, stealing the show in the process. She's since gone on to play the role for two more projects, Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad. The former movie flies into theaters this weekend, with Robbie credited as a producer. But it turns out that she didn't expect her character to become quite so popular in her first appearance.
David Ayer's Suicide Squad hit theaters in 2016, and failed to truly live up to they hype established by its stellar first trailer. The movie was largely saved by Margot Robbie's performance as Harley Quinn, as the femme fatale inspired laughs and heart in each of her scenes. Warner Bros. then went all in on Ms. Quinn, ordering two more appearances for the character. The Oscar-nominated actress recently explained why she wasn't expecting Harley to be such a fan favorite, saying:
It’s so funny because when I signed on to play Harley Quinn, there wasn’t a script yet for Suicide Squad. And all that I was really going off of was a Skype conversation with David Ayer and he had described two scenes he had in his head and I loved the idea of them. They just sounded so cool and bizarre. I really was picturing it as being a much smaller film that was going to get very little attention, especially since it was going to be a squad of people.
Given the fact that Suicide Squad was an ensemble film, it looks like Margot Robbie didn't expect her version of Harley to get quite so big. But that's exactly what happened inspiring countless Halloween costumes in the process. And she's since become one of the most significant characters in the entire shared universe.
Margot Robbie's comments to BBC Radio 1 are sure to surprise anyone who saw Suicide Squad in theaters. While it was indeed an ensemble cast, Harley Quinn and Will Smith's Deadshot, and Jay Hernandez's El Diablo got far more dialogue and backstory to work with. And since Harley is bananas, she also got the majority of the blockbuster's comedic beats. It was Harley's world, and we were all just living in it.
DC fans will do a much deeper dive into Harley's psyche in Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). As the title suggests, the movie is told from Harley's perspective, and will ultimately emancipate her from Jared Leto's Joker. While he won't be physically present in the movie, the DCEU blockbuster will see how she meets a group of gal pals, and takes on Gotham City's villainous Black Mask.
Birds of Prey is in theaters starting tonight. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
