Will Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn Return for the DCU? James Gunn’s Comments On This!

James Gunn is currently out on the press junket for Peacemaker Season 2. He’s been answering all sorts of questions about Superman and the future of the DCU including one involving Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. He gave his answer and I wanted to talk about it. Let’s get started!

James Gunn’s Quote: It was a pretty basic question and answer where it’s been very clear that despite The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker being in the DCEU, they’re also canon to the DCU. One of the characters that are more interesting in possibly seeing again, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Gunn was asked if we’ll ever see her join the DCU. Gunn responded with this “that will be revealed down the line.” Not much there but there’s some conversations to be had here.

My Thoughts

To state the obvious, the DCEU was a mess. WB wanted to rush the DCEU because the MCU was dominating pop culture. Wisely WB decided to end the DCEU and reboot in 2023 with James Gunn taking over. Very soon after Gunn took over it was clear that the DCU was its own thing and none of the Justice League members were going to be returning. It also was announced that Peacemaker Season 2 was happening and it’ll be set in the DCU. If you watch Creature Commandos, the first minutes of the show make it clear that everything James Gunn did for the DCEU is canon to the DCU. Which involves The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

With all of the mess and drama that happened with the DCEU, one of the most popular and most beloved castings was Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. When Margot Robbie played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016) that was the film was that propelled her to the A-list. Her breakout role was a few years earlier with The Wolf of Wall Street. But she’s been this A-list movie star for almost 10 years now starting with that 2016 film. She got her own film in Birds of Prey that is polarizing but a lot of people really like it (including myself). She was one of the leads in The Suicide Squad. Across all three films, her performance was highly praised and people loved her in the role. It also helped that Harley Quinn was a super popular DC character that hadn’t been brought to the big screen yet. Robbie was able to make the character her own and do a very comic accurate take on the character. Even her outfit in 2016’s Suicide Squad was iconic and became a very popular Halloween costume. Robbie has said multiple times that she’d love to return as the character. I think if she was to return it’ll make a lot of fans excited because people love her in the role. To me and many other people, she was the best casting to come out of the DCEU. Margot Robbie was an important part in Gunn’s pocket of the DC universe and he might wanna bring her over because of how popular she is. If Gunn has established his DCU to be very goofy and comic booky with how goofy and wild Harley Quinn is, she could fit right in.

In the wise words of Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” Gunn COULD bring Margot Robbie into the DCU, but SHOULD Gunn bring her over? Honestly, as much as I love the character and love Robbie as an actress. I don’t know if that’ll be a smart idea. I think in order for the DCU to work it needs to be a fresh full on reboot. Audiences were not too pleased with the DCEU and given the box office numbers of the DCEU films from 2019-2023, it’s clear audiences weren’t showing up. I think that’s why Superman is a hit at the box office, because it’s a fresh new start for DC and I think audiences know that. I think the more people you bring from the DCEU into the DCU the more confusing it’s going to get. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is an iconic casting from the DCEU. If they announced she’s coming back there’s going to be people thinking “wait I thought she was in the DCEU” and will be confused as to whether the franchise rebooted or not. I’m still excited for Peacemaker Season 2, I’m excited to see the next chapter in the DCU especially after how much I loved Superman. But I think that should be it over the carryovers from the DCEU. I think the more people you bring in, the more confusing it’s going to be for audiences.

If Margot Robbie was to return in the DCU, I wouldn’t be disappointed or annoyed. I’d be excited because I love her and I love the character but I don’t think it’ll be a good call for the grander DC universe and simply on a business level. His quote might not lead to anything in the future and the DCU will have a different Harley Quinn that’s not played by Margot Robbie.