Harley Quinn is more popular than ever — in no large part thanks to Margot Robbie’s recent turn as the character. The snarky sometimes-girlfriend of The Joker was featured in the divisive 2016 Suicide Squad and was given a larger role in 2020’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.) She’s been a mainstay in the countless Batman games with the latest entry, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League expected in 2022.
But none of her roles in movies have let Harley Quinn be the true star. Sure, she’s had amazing fight scenes and great quips of dialogue, but she’s never held the narrative on her own. After years of being a fan-favorite and her supporting role in James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad, it may finally be Harley’s time to shine on the screen by herself.
It’s not like the concept of another Harley Quinn-centric piece of media would be unheard of or immediately shot down by the public. Birds of Prey, while not an immediate classic, was beloved by select fans and generally liked by critics. On the television front, HBO Max’s Harley Quinn has been recently renewed for a third season and has been praised for its writing. After this work, Harley as a character has more than proved herself ready to lead a movie.
So why has it taken so long for there to be a Harley Quinn solo movie? Or solo female superhero or comic book movies in general? The answer isn’t due to a lack of content, especially with the abundance of awesome female characters out there, and under DC’s roof alone. Margot Robbie herself has spoken vehemently about giving women more roles in action-heavy movies, superhero-based or not.
Marvel may be finally taking the hint with Captain Marvel and the recent release of Black Widow, a movie almost twenty years in the making and likely to be Scarlett Johansson’s last outing as Natasha Romanoff. But when it comes to the DCEU, the only solo movies with a female lead are Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984, which only cover the titular character. The DCEU could take a page from the Marvel handbook and give one of their female characters a movie after years of relying on their male characters to bring in fans. The audience support and desire for more action movies with female-led casts and narratives are hard to ignore — and an easy place to start delivering on that promise could be with adapting already popular characters, like Harley.
A movie solely focused on Quinn could be beneficial not just for die-hard fans of the character, but for the fate of the DCEU going forward. There’s a reason why Marvel let the main members of the Avengers have solo movies like Iron Man or Captain America: The First Avenger. When characters are given time to grow by themselves and go through their own plotlines, it makes their character stronger, making ensemble movies like The Avengers or Justice League better because of it. It’s not only big superheroes that can benefit from this treatment, but villains too. If the DCEU wants to get as much as they can out of one of the most popular characters, good or bad, Harley deserves a movie of her own. And why should it stop with Harley? Fans would love to see other villainesses spotlighted on the big screen, like Quinn’s sometimes-friend Poison Ivy or Birds of Prey knockout Huntress.
The possibilities a solo Harley Quinn movie has are endless. While it’s unclear where the end of The Suicide Squad will leave the DCEU or Harley, it would be shocking to see her story end there. With the new independence and power she gained after her breakup with The Joker in Birds of Prey, it could be exciting to see Harley out in the world by herself — getting into trouble of course. If Robbie’s Quinn makes it out of The Suicide Squad alive, a potential solo movie could also be the key to bridging the gaps in the current messy nature of the DCEU. If Harley is gone by the end of Gunn’s movie, it could always be interesting to see another actress take up the costume, start at page one and tell a totally new story. With so many different portrayals of Harley Quinn in video games, TV, and movies, no idea is out of the question.
Whatever happens in the plot of the upcoming The Suicide Squad, let’s hope it’s not the last we see of Harley Quinn, especially when she’s finally ready to shine on her own.
The Suicide Squad will be available on HBO Max and in theaters on August 6, 2021.