Wonder Woman 1984 has been struggling at the box office, which is hardly surprising given that the theatrical industry was ravaged by the Coronavirus pandemic, and based on the fact that the superhero sequel was released internationally two weeks ago and has only just passed $85 million globally, Birds of Prey fans might have been right to celebrate the fellow DCEU movie as the highest-grossing comic book adaptation of 2020.
Then again, there are extenuating circumstances affecting Wonder Woman 1984‘s commercial performance, whereas Birds of Prey hit cinemas before COVID-19 changed the world as we knew it, so Cathy Yan’s spinoff was a bomb no matter which way you look at it. And while there’s every chance that none of the supporting cast will ever be seen in the franchise again, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is still a major figure in the DCEU.
The actress is set to take top billing in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad having played third fiddle behind Will Smith and Jared Leto in the marketing for the first installment, and the chances are high that she’ll make it out of the soft reboot alive despite Gunn’s vaguely threatening statement that he’s been given the complete creative freedom to kill off anyone he wants.
After all, Harley is the second most prominent female character in the DCEU behind only Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince, and insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that the two-time Academy Award nominee wants her next outing as Harleen Quinzel to be R-rated. Looking at Birds of Prey, it seems unlikely that she’ll be granted the opportunity to fly solo again on the big screen, but an R-rated HBO Max series has been floated as a potential destination recently, and despite Warner Bros. reportedly wanting her to stay PG-13, the acclaimed animated series would make it appear as though Harley Quinn works just as well in a more mature environment.
Published: Dec 31, 2020 08:25 am