The Suicide Squad will mark Margot Robbie’s third go-round as Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe. In the five years since her first live-action appearance in David Ayer’s original Suicide Squad, the character has experienced her fair share of ups and downs. But it sounds like by the time James Gunn’s sequel/reboot hits the masses, her story will have come full circle. Robbie discussed Harley’s journey during a 2019 set visit that was finally published by The Toronto Sun this weekend. Specifically, she revealed what sets this latest iteration of Harley apart from her earlier portrayals.
The big difference this time around is that Harley has made peace with the fact that she and Joker are officially splitsville. This more or less guarantees that we won’t be getting a cameo appearance from Jared Leto’s Clown Prince of Crime. But more importantly, she has finally come into her own as a fully-realized character.
“I think in the first Suicide Squad film she had a certain confidence and cockiness, knowing that she had the protection of the Joker,” said Robbie. “She was like, ‘I’ll go on this mission, and he’ll get me out of here in a second’ … that was kind of her prerogative on that film. Then in Birds of Prey it was, ‘Oh s***, it’s a scary, cold world. Maybe I can’t do it.’ In this film, time has passed, it doesn’t directly link to either of those films, but it’s not something that Harley is wrestling with anymore. She’s not waiting for Mr. J to show up and she’s not wondering if she can do it on her own. She knows.”
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Robbie also acknowledged that each of her DCEU appearances happened with a different director at the helm. However, she doesn’t seem to mind this. After all, there are “many facets of [Harley’s] personality” for filmmakers to choose from and focus on. She’s even adopted a similarly laissez-faire attitude with respect to the disjointed continuity of the DCEU.
“Oftentimes, you’ll be reading a comic and they leave off at one place and you pick up the next [issue] and they pick up with totally different characters and that person who just died is suddenly there and you just go with it,” added Robbie. “I swapped between The New 52 and the old comics, and none of that stops me from enjoying the stories.”
The Suicide Squad hits theaters and HBO Max on August 6.
Are you excited to watch this latest version of Harley in action? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Harley Quinn: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 1
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