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Margot Robbie’s run as Harley Quinn has been an especially unique one because each time she’s appeared as the DC character, it’s been part of another filmmaker’s vision. Harley made her big screen debut back in 2016 with David Ayer’s take on her, with the bomber jacket, baseball bat and all. Then in 2020, she moved into Cathy Yan’s world of highlighter pink and glitter guns in Birds of Prey before approaching James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. What can we expect from the character next?
From what we’ve seen of the Guardian of the Galaxy director’s vision for The Suicide Squad, Harley is still the Harley we know, just with a bit of a remix. Ahead of the summer release, Margot Robbie shared what to expect from the upcoming return on the character:
One of the first things I said to James was, I think Harley is a catalyst of chaos. She’s not necessarily your narrative center, and sometimes it’s great when plot points can rest on other characters’ shoulders, and she can be the thing that erupts a whole sequence of events. That’s something I felt he agreed with, based on what I was reading in the script.
When speaking to Total Film about the next step for her character, Margot Robbie shared that while Harley Quinn isn’t necessarily center stage in The Suicide Squad, she has a key role as a “catalyst of chaos” to some of the film’s storylines. That’s apparent in one memorable scene in the film’s trailer where the Squad seems to be trying to rescue her from something until she finds her own way out. Check out the red band The Suicide Squad trailer below:
The Suicide Squad is set to head to both theaters and HBO Max on August 6, 2021. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
Harley Quinn will also share the screen with a massive cast that includes over 20 members of Task Force X. While we imagine each character will get their moment in the spotlight, it seems like John Cena’s Peacemaker, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport and Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag will have top billing. Margot Robbie continued to tease her return to Harley with these words:
[In terms of] how she’s changed, it’s just always interesting to explore what characteristics different directors gravitate towards from the character. The common denominator is the source material, which is what I always built the character off anyway. Then she evolves in different ways under different people’s direction.
It’s really a gift that Margot Robbie has when you think about it in terms of her DCEU character. She has the chance to reprise a role she loves while also reinventing her in new ways and working with a variety of casts and filmmakers. For The Suicide Squad, she’ll be going for Harley’s more classic red and black looks, and it doesn’t sound like Jared Leto’s Joker will have any part of the story. He’s over in the axed Snyderverse facing off against Batman it seems. It'll be exciting to see how James Gunn influences Harley this August.
