5 Actresses Who Could Replace Margot Robbie As Harley Quinn In James Gunn's DC Universe

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The DC Extended Universe (RIP) was a mixed bag at the best of times, but one character it got right was Harley Quinn, as played by Margot Robbie. (HQ's former beau the Joker, not so much...)

Robbie's Harley appeared in three films: "Suicide Squad," "Birds of Prey," and "The Suicide Squad" directed by James Gunn, who is now head honcho of DC Studios. "The Suicide Squad" is more or less canon to Gunn's new DC Universe, so should fans expect Robbie's Harley to return in the same way that John Cena's Peacemaker or Viola Davis' Amanda Waller has?

"That will be revealed down the line," said Gunn in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. Compare Gunn's reticence with him saying in that same interview that he's looking to bring back Idris Elba as Bloodsport, another star of "The Suicide Squad." 

It's very possible neither Gunn or Robbie have decided one way or another if the latter is coming back. Robbie starred in and produced "Barbie," the biggest movie of 2023. If she wasn't a Hollywood power player before that, she is now, and I could easily see her wanting to try new things rather than returning to the old.

For what it's worth, Robbie said back in 2024 that she'd be more than happy for someone else to eventually step in as 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 to Forbes. Lady Gaga got a shot at it in "Joker: Folie à Deux" and took it in good humor when the movie didn't land. Who's next?

Harley is definitely too big a character for the DCU to leave out. The same way you can't do a DC Universe without Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman, you can't really do one without Harley at this point either. So, which young actress could be the next to enter the red, black, and white revolving door of Harley Quinn?

Pragmatically, DC Studios likely wants a youngish up-and-comer as Harley (the type Robbie was when she got the part). One actress who fits that is Olivia Holt; even better, she's got Harley's blonde hair.

Holt has some experience with superhero media, having played Dagger in the Marvel series "Cloak & Dagger." Her projects of late show she might have the range to play a super-villain too. A TV actress and former Disney Channel star, Holt has recently graduated to starring in genre movies.

She's hilarious in "Totally Killer," a "Back to the Future" riff where the 1980s are now the past instead of the present. This past year, she led the slasher/romcom hybrid "Heart Eyes," playing both the romantic lead and the final girl. The movie's tonal balance, which Holt held together like glue, could be useful for a character as eccentric and hyperactive as Harley. Her role most like Harley though, was on the stage, not the screen: Holt played fame-seeking murderess Roxie Hart in a 2023 Broadway production of "Chicago."

For some added comedy, Holt's work on the TV series "Cruel Summer" makes her a former co-star of Harley Quinn Smith, daughter of filmmaker and Batman superfan Kevin Smith.

2025 was the summer of Julia Garner, who recently lit up the screen in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" as Shalla-Bal, a female version of the Silver Surfer. However, it might be her other recent starring role, as lonely teacher Justine Gandy in "Weapons," that puts her in contention as Harley.

You see, "Weapons" director Zach Cregger has said he's written a DCU script. Reliable sources including the Hollywood Reporter say the script, "Henchman," is set in Gotham City and follows a low level criminal who accidentally gets one over on Batman. The Joker and Harley Quinn feature as supporting characters. There's no guarantee Cregger's script gets made, but it sounds offbeat enough to catch James Gunn's eye. This is the man who approved a Clayface movie based on the strength of Mike Flanagan's pitch.

If Cregger gets to make his DC movie, he might want to use actors he's worked with before. Picture Garner as Harley opposite "Barbarian" stars Bill Skarsgård or Justin Long as the Joker. Of course, it's not just this connection that earns Garner a spot on this list. Her star-making role as Ruth Langmore on "Ozark" shows she has the stern skill to be a super-villain. Even her portrayal of the Silver Surfer, as a villain with a good heart buried deep but who feels trapped, maps well onto typical characterization of Harley.

If you're not going to get Margot Robbie herself back as Harley Quinn, do the next best thing and cast her lookalike! They're both blue-eyed Australian blondes with similar faces and wicked smiles. Put Weaving in Harley's jester face paint and less attentive audience members may not even notice there's been a recast.

This shouldn't be taken to mean that Weaving is only an understudy for Robbie. There's one movie that makes me think she'd be a great and unique Harley all on her own and that's the 2019 slasher "Ready or Not" (soon to have a sequel). Weaving plays final girl Grace who, on her wedding night, finds herself being hunted by her old money in-laws in a lethal game of hide and seek. The Le Domas family made a deal with the Devil long ago, and if they don't sacrifice Grace to him, he'll come to collect on their souls instead.

That culminates in the (literally) gutbusting ending where Grace's in-laws start to explode as a penalty for losing the game. The blood splattered Grace can only laugh at the gore. The way she laughs and smiles in that scene screams Harley Quinn to me, particularly a more sinister Harley Quinn. Weaving is the niece of Hugo Weaving, one of Hollywood's most reliable creepy bad guy actors, so give her the chance to measure up to his footsteps.

English actress Ella Purnell has been blowing up with a variety of TV roles, from the plucky Lucy MacLean on "Fallout" to queen bee Jackie Taylor on "Yellowjackets." She's got the talent to jump from TV lead to full blown movie star and I think Harley Quinn could be the role for her to do it. 

One of Purnell's starring roles is "Sweetpea," about a wallflower named Rhiannon who becomes a serial killer. She also voiced the firecracker Jinx in "Arcane." These roles both scream Harley Quinn, and the fact that Purnell is also a trained voice actor makes me think she could hit the right pitch for Harley.

But honestly, it's just as much Purnell's offscreen persona that convinces me she'd fit right in as Harley. In interviews and other online appearances, she's always shown herself to be a perky and hyperactive motormouth, quick with a joke or smile. If Purnell can bring that side of herself to the part, mixed with the sinister energy of some of her other roles, then she's as perfect a Harley Quinn as I can imagine. (Throw in one of her "Yellowjackets" costars like Sophie Nélisse or Liv Hewson as Harley's GF Poison Ivy while we're at it.)

The world is Mikey Madison's oyster after her Oscar-winning leading role in "Anora." Madison played the eponymous Ani, a stripper who marries a Russian oligarch's son (Mark Eydelshteyn) but finds that life is no simple Cinderella story.

Madison has already turned down "Star Wars," and if she isn't interested in big franchises, then so be it. But I can't leave her off this list, because I can think of no other actress who could conjure the spirit of the late Arleen Sorkin (the original voice of Harley Quinn) like she could. Sure, she'd have to dye her raven black hair blonde, but I've no doubt she could still rock that look.

Ani may not dress like a harlequin but she's got some Harley Quinn energy — Brooklyn accent and all. She may take no s**t, but she's also a fool for love, a contradiction that exists in Harley too. Before "Anora," Madison had a habit of playing cute young killers, too. She appeared as a member of the Manson family in "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" and her "Scream" character Amber Freeman turned out to be one of the movie's Ghostfaces. The way that Amber smiles as she brutally murders people? Madison could use it for Harley too and it'd fit as snugly as a clown's glove.