In 2020 and 2021, we’ve been blessed with a new Harley Quinn movie each year, with last year delivering Birds of Prey while August brings The Suicide Squad, which will see Margot Robbie reprise her role as the Clown Princess of Crime for a third time. Unfortunately, fans shouldn’t expect to see Harley in another adventure next year, though, as Robbie has confirmed that she’s taking a break from her beloved character.
The Australian actress confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the back-to-back scheduling of Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad, meaning Robbie had to portray the high-energy anti-heroine for an extended period, ended up being “exhausting” for her. As for where and when she could don the white face-paint again, the star is as unsure as the fans.
“It was kind of back-to-back filming Birds… and filming this, so I was kind of like, oof, I need a break from Harley because she’s exhausting,” Robbie revealed. “I don’t know when we’re next going to see her. I’m just as intrigued as everyone else is.”
This is obviously disappointing news for the legion of Harley lovers out there. If Birds of Prey had been a financial smash, it’s easy to imagine that Warner Bros. would’ve fast-tracked a sequel into production, but unfortunately its critical success and strong support from fans clearly isn’t enough to warrant a follow-up. BoP 2 probably would’ve featured a team-up between Harley and her frequent girlfriend Poison Ivy. There’s still hope the dynamic duo could come together in the DCEU, though, as Robbie’s said that she’s constantly pestering WB to bring Ivy into the movies.
Meanwhile, the studio seem to have a lot of faith in James Gunn, so there’s a strong likelihood he could continue the Suicide Squad franchise in the near future. So maybe Harley Quinn could return next in a third Task Force X film or perhaps even in a HBO Max spinoff series. As one of DC’s most popular characters these days, it feels safe to assume that Margot Robbie will return as Harleen Quinzel before too long. She just needs to recharge her batteries first.
The Suicide Squad hits theaters and streaming on August 6th.
