Margot Robbie Is Ready To Pass Harley Quinn's Torch Onto The Next Actress
When Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" first hit theaters, it was the summer between high school and the start of my undergraduate studies. I was a lifelong fan of all things Batman and reading as many books about film theory as I could get my hands on. Simply put, I was the perfect target to get swept up in the frenzy of what many were considering the best Batman film ever made. Knowing this was the second part of a trilogy, my fantasy booking of the inevitable third film went wild, and as my Facebook memories love to show me every year, I went home and updated my status to say, "DEAR CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, GIVE ME HARLEY QUINN!" When fans started making viral mockups of Kristen Bell donning photoshopped harlequin makeup, I saved them all.
This is all to say, Harley is and has always been my girl. From her first appearance on "Batman: The Animated Series" to her current animated series on Max, I love the fantabulous Harley Quinn. As history would prove, Harley Quinn would not appear in "The Dark Knight Rises," but would make her debut in the world of DC films (Mia Sara gave her a live-action TV debut in "Birds of Prey") through Margot Robbie in both "Suicide Squad" films and the absolutely brilliant "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)." Robbie perfectly encapsulated the spirit of the character, and although her initial styling in David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" has been polarizing, it has come to completely redefine the character.
With James Gunn and Peter Safran transitioning the future of DC films into their new universe, some are wondering what this means for Harley. Well, if you ask Margot Robbie, she's more than happy to pass the mallet to another performer to give their own spin on the character.
Margot Robbie is ready to move on from Harley Quinn
In a recent interview with Forbes, Robbie, who has now become synonymous with another American icon, expressed her desire to see someone new become Harley Quinn. "I always wanted Harley to be a character that would get passed on to other actresses to play, the way there are so many iconic male characters," she said. "That was always the dream for her." She has a point, when we think of the all-time great legacy characters in film and television, they're almost all male. Superheroes like Batman and Superman are of course the most obvious, but there's also figures like James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Count Dracula, and until very recently, Doctor Who. Save for literary adaptations of classic works like "Little Women" or "Pride and Prejudice," the majority of legacy women characters are reserved for comic book fare.
"Harley's so fun and can go in so many different directions," Robbie explained. "You put her in someone else's hands, and it's like, 'What are they going to do with her?' The options are endless." Even within Robbie's three performances as the character in "Suicide Squad," "Birds of Prey," and "The Suicide Squad," there were noticeable evolutions of her personality. The animated version voiced by Kaley Cuoco may have a similar appearance to Robbie's live-action counterpart, but the personality (and sexuality) have grown beyond the limitations of a tentpole film.
With Todd Phillips' "Joker: Folie à Deux" arriving later this year, we'll get our first studio-picture look at a new Harley Quinn from Lady Gaga, but there's no telling what the future holds for the character in the new DCU or even Matt Reeves' Batman series. Personally, I'm bummed that Sydney Sweeney is playing Julia Carpenter in "Madame Web" because her manic "Euphoria" season 2 breakdown of "I HAVE NEVER, EVER BEEN HAPPIER!" is the best Harley Quinn audition I've ever seen.