Joel Schumacher's Canceled Batman Movie Had A Shocking Take On Harley Quinn

Although director Joel Schumacher was forced to stop making Batman films after his disastrous 1997 movie "Batman & Robin," he often spoke about his original plans for a sequel titled "Batman Unchained." The film, which would've been Schumacher's third Batman movie, was set to mark Harley Quinn's live-action debut on the big screen. Specifically, she would've been introduced as a toymaker who despises Batman for locking away her father. Who was her father in this version? None other than the Joker himself.

Yes, Harley would've been the daughter of Jack Nicholson's Joker from Tim Burton's "Batman," and Warner Bros. wanted Nicholson to return to play him. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015, writer Mark Protosevich described the movie as a big finale that would've called back to the previous four live-action Batman films, ignoring that the actor who played Batman had changed twice already.

The most jarring part of this, at least for modern Batman fans, is the idea of Harley as the Joker's daughter. Throughout DC's comics, films, and TV shows, Harley has consistently been portrayed as the Joker's girlfriend. Her toxic romance with the villain (a character typically presented as her abuser) is also a key part of her character. Granted, in 1997, Harley was still a new addition to the Batman universe; she'd only just been introduced in "Batman: The Animated Series" in 1992 and didn't make her comic debut until 1999.

Perhaps Protosevich and Schumacher felt like Harley was new enough that her Joker romance wasn't set in stone yet, or perhaps Jack Nicholson's age (over 60 at that point) made them less interested in giving him a younger love interest. But despite how strange the daughter angle might seem, Protosevich and Schumacher were still faithful to a core aspect of Harley's character.

Although Harley would've been one of the two main antagonists in "Batman Unchained," she would've been a sympathetic one. According to THR, "The standout character of the film would have been Harley Quinn, who in the end finds redemption for her villainous ways. She was to be complex, conflicted, and ultimately a good person underneath."

This is the main appeal of Harley Quinn: She's fun and scary when she needs to be, but she's likable. It's impossible not to sympathize with her when the Joker is abusing her, just as it's impossible not to root for her to break free of the Joker's grip. She also tends to have a clear (if unconventional) moral code. For example, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn in the DC Extended Universe has a profound distaste for harming kids or innocent civilians. Indeed, there's a reason Robbie's Harley became one of the DCEU's standout characters despite all of her movies being either critical or financial misfires: People love a character who skewers traditional morality but still does the right thing eventually.

Protosevich also revealed that Courtney Love, who was transitioning from music to acting at the time, was interested in taking on the role of Harley. "I think she had heard about the possibility of Harley Quinn being in the new 'Batman' and was thinking she would be good for it," he remarked, although he admitted that he and Love never explicitly talked about the role.

While Harley Quinn would've been focused on taking down Batman, Professor Jonathan Crane (aka Scarecrow) would've been the villain fixated on taking down Bruce Wayne in the film. "I remember going to the set of 'Face/Off' and asking [Nicolas] Cage to play the Scarecrow," Schumacher recalled. He also described his vision for "Batman Unchained" as being "very dark."

Cage never got his chance to play Scarecrow, as "Batman Unchained" was ultimately scrapped due to the failure of "Batman & Robin." Still, shreds of Schumacher's unmade sequel seemed to find their way into "Batman Begins" a few years later. That movie also featured two villains, including the ominous Scarecrow. And while director Christopher Nolan didn't pick Cage for the role, it's not like anyone could complain about Cillian Murphy landing the part instead. 

Not only is Scarecrow a fan favorite element of Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy (not to mention, the only villain to appear in all three films), but Harley Quinn is now one of the most beloved comic book characters in modern pop culture. "Batman Unchained" may've fallen apart, but it's clear Schumacher and Protosevich at least partially understood what moviegoers wanted.