Warning: SPOILERS for the Creature Commandos Season 1 finale are ahead!
Although the DC Universe has officially replaced the DC Extended Universe as the main shared continuity in this corner of the superhero media landscape, there are elements of the latter that remain intact in this new era. Along with Xolo Maridueña set to reprise Blue Beetle in an animated upcoming DC TV show, most of the events of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1 remain canon, though definitely not that memorable Justice League scene. Both those projects were helmed by James Gunn, who also made Creature Commandos, has his Superman movie coming this summer on the 2025 movies schedule, and is running DC Studios with producer Peter Safran.
The lines between the DCU and James Gunn’s portion of the DCEU keep getting blurrier, with the most recent example being how The Suicide Squad’s King Shark was brought back as a new member of the Creature Commandos’ title team (see for yourself by streaming the Season 1 finale with a Max subscription). So taking all this into consideration, I’m pitching that Margot Robbie reprise Harley Quinn for the DCU as soon as possible.
What We’ve Seen From Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn So Far
Margot Robbie’s history with The Joker’s lover-turned-antiheroine stretches back to 2016’s Suicide Squad, which came out five years after Harley Quinn’s connection to Task Force X was first formed in the comics during the New 52 era. Although Suicide Squad itself was a box office success, it was met with primarily negative critical reception, but Robbie’s performance as Harley was one of the movie’s few praised aspects. So it was hardly shocking when she was brought back for 2020’s Birds of Prey, followed by The Suicide Squad a year later, and she was just one of four Suicide Squad characters who returned for the latter movie (the others being Captain Boomerang, Amanda Waller and Rick Flag Jr.).
Although Suicide Squad introduced the DCEU’s Harley Quinn as a lovesick baddie desperate to return to The Joker, Birds of Prey saw her breaking up with the Clown Prince of Crime and forging a new life on her own, and The Suicide Squad only indirectly acknowledged her toxic relationship. When we left off with her, she was flying out of Corto Maltese with Bloodsport, Ratcatcher II and King Shark, the only other Task Force X survivors.
Margot Robbie Deserves A Lot More Time To Shine As Harley Quinn
Margot Robbie has played Harley Quinn in three movies, which is a lot more time than most actors get to play a character. Still, considering how well received her performance as the popular DC Comics character was from 2016 to 2021, and since James Gunn is so willing to retain characters from his prior DC projects, it’s only right that she be allowed to continue playing Harley in the DC Universe. If the public liked her depiction so much, why not give them more of it?
Don’t get me wrong, Harley had already been a popular DC character for a long time before Suicide Squad came out, stretching back to when she was played by the late Arleen Sorkin in Batman: The Animated Series, which introduced Harley to the world. But it’d be foolish to say that the 2016 movie and the subsequent appearances of Robbie’s Harley didn’t catapult the character to new heights of popularity. If Viola Davis and John Cena can keep respectively playing Amanda Waller and Peacemaker, then Robbie’s Harley should be added to the lineup.
It Would Be Easy Enough To Fit Harley Quinn Into The DCU Timeline
As mentioned earlier, with the exception of Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle, all the DC Extended Universe holdovers from the DC Universe come from James Gunn-helmed projects into account. So working within those parameters, that would mean the only “canon” appearance from Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn in the DC Universe has been in The Suicide Squad, which is fine by me. The less I have to think about Suicide Squad, the better (though it’d be great if the Ayer Cut could be released someday), and while Birds of Prey was a much better viewing experience for me, I don’t feel strongly enough about it to actively campaign for those events to factor into Harley’s backstory for the DCU.
Which leaves just The Suicide Squad, which is one of my favorite movies from the DCEU era. This means Harley would get a nearly blank slate to work with in the DCU: all that needs to be kept in mind is that she used to be romantically involved with The Joker and she went on several Task Force X missions. Otherwise, the sky’s the limit on what could be done with her, and I would especially be interested in seeing her finally appear in a Batman-centric project, like The Brave and the Bold or the Mike Flanagan-penned Clayface movie.
Margot Robbie Is A Bigger Draw Than Ever
Although Margot Robbie first drew attention worldwide for her role in The Wolf of Wall Street, playing Harley Quinn unquestionably made her a big name around Hollywood. Fast-forward nine years later, Robbie is a two-time Academy Award-nominated actress who’s impressed in flicks like I, Tonya, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bombshell and Barbie, the latter of which she also produced. She’s one of Tinsel Town’s biggest draws these days, so DC would be foolish not to loop her back in, especially since as I’ve already made clear, the path is easily laid out for her to do so. Yeah, she’ll fetch a much heftier paycheck, but it will be worth the money to give the people more of what was considered one of the main highlights of the DCEU.
2025 has just begun, and while I obviously don’t expect Margot Robbie to appear in the DC Universe this year since both Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 have already been shot, my fingers are crossed that we might receive news this year about her reprising Harley Quinn. For now though, at least I can easily revisit her prior outings as the character over on Max while going through the DC movies in order.
