Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn Will Be Next Seen in The Suicide Squad

Margot Robbie has back to back releases to show for herself in 2021.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway release has been planned in the January slot, and the recent DC FanDome event revealed that James Gunn’s Suicide Squad would be released on August the 4th 2021.

Margot Robbie made her first appearance as Harley Quinn in the disappointing 2016 film, Suicide Squad. However, her performance was one of the few highlights of the film. She also did a solo film with the character titled “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn” which was released in February earlier this year.

“Birds of Prey” was again not up to the mark if we are speaking about the plot but Margot Robbie’s personification of the titular character was unsurprisingly the strongest point of the film. It looks like DC has taken note of this fact and has realized that she has now settled into her character as the comic studio is in talks with Warner Bros. to develop further stories based on her. However, please understand the caveat that these are just rumors right now, and what is confirmed is the fact that she will be seen in James Gunn’s revamp of the disastrous 2016 film. For now, the film is looking all set for the August release next year.

Her origin story was compendiously shown in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. She was a normal psychiatrist working at Arkham Asylum when she met the criminal mastermind Joker (played by Jared Leto) and got involved in a sadistic relationship which eventually led to her mental breakdown. However, in the film, she joins hands with Will Smith and the gang on a mission to save the world. At the end of the film, she is emancipated by Joker from her prison confinement. 

Harley Quinn’s solo film did not have anything to do with Joker and dealt with her being on another mission to stop the crime boss Black Mask with the help of some vigilantes. In the initial few minutes of the film, we realized that she has split up with Joker and is going through a moving-on phase.

Jared Leto’s absence as the Joker was intentional because the film was made keeping in mind that “girl power” will be its marketing pitch. However, the film failed to ride on the success of three preceding blockbusters from DC- Aquaman, Shazam, and Joker. Just like Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn solo film also received criticism for its overuse of cliches, cheesy lines, and the absence of a challenging villain. However, as stated above, neither the audience, not the critics, had any issues with Margot Robbie’s portrayal of the psychotic anti-hero character.

The absence of Will Smith in the James Gunn’s iteration of Suicide Squad (The Suicide Squad) will naturally make Margot Robbie the star of the film and her character a central figure in the plot (which she was in the first film as well alongside The Pursuit of Happyness actor). The plot and her role in the film have been kept under wraps for now, but the long list of the ensemble cast has been released at DC FanDome. Some of the old faces from the 2016 film are returning to reprise their roles alongside Robbie.

Margot Robbie will lead the cast. Luther actor Idris Elba has been roped in to fill in Will Smith’s shoes, but he will portray Bloodsport (not Bloodshot). A star-studded supporting cast includes John Cena as the Peacemaker, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Alice Braga as SolSoria, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, and Nathan Fillion as T.D.K.

I am obliged to tell you that this is not the full list. There are other actors playing important characters in the film among which is Academy Award-winning director Taika Waititi in an undisclosed role. If you want to know the full cast and behind the scenes individuals, please visit the film’s IMDb page.

Apart from Will Smith, two prime absences from the film are Jared Leto’s Joker and Ben Affleck’s Batman. There were some speculations that since the audience are not pleased with the actors’ performances, DC films studio might be looking for new faces. DCEU is looking to rebuild its broken franchise, but many characters’ future is still shrouded in uncertainty among which is Henry Cavill’s Superman who was supposed to be the foundation stone of the Justice League franchise.

There is no clear-cut plan in the DCEU build-up, unlike Marvel whose creators were very sure on where they were heading next. However, the success of Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam have provided the studio with a slimmer of hope, but the first step of the rebuilding process starts with fixing the failure of the Justice League, and Zack Snyder has embarked on doing exactly that.

Despite the collapse of the DCEU franchise, the studio tasted over a billion-dollar success with the film Joker whose actor Joaquin Phoenix even went on to bag the Best Actor Award at 2020 Oscars. Matt Reaves is also building a Batman universe with Robert Pattinson at the helm, and the long-awaited release of Wonder Woman has also been considered a tentpole. I would have to acknowledge the argument that things aren’t exactly as bleak as it has been opinionated to be. The studio just needs proper planning and a will to focus on their own comic books rather than imitating what Marvel has done in the past.  

Mia Watson is an avid technical blogger, a magazine contributor, a publisher of guides at Blogs Book, and a professional cyber security analyst. Through her writing, she aims to educate people about the dangers and threats lurking in the digital world. Visit My Site, address-zone.com

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