David Ayer’s Suicide Squad may not have been showered with critical praise, but it did earn a hefty chunk of change at the box office and establish the DCEU’s breakout star in Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Although the proposed Gotham City Sirens with Ayer at the helm never happened, and Jared Leto’s Joker was quietly swept under the rug despite the two lovebirds also having their own spinoff announced, Harley eventually managed to make it back to our screens in Birds of Prey.
Unfortunately, the female-driven ensemble movie bombed at the box office, becoming the lowest-grossing installment in the DCEU by a worryingly wide margin after earning just a fraction over $200 million in theaters. Any plans for a franchise seem to be on hold, then, though Harley will be back next year in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
Originally, the plan was for Warner Bros. to establish the fan favorite character as one of the figureheads of their shared universe, but the lukewarm reception to Birds of Prey looks to have poured cold water on the idea. With Wonder Woman 1984 poised to do huge numbers, it seems clear that Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince is set to solidify her position as the DCEU’s leading lady, and with the world’s biggest movie star also set for his impending debut in the franchise, it appears as if Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will also play a prominent role.
This has led to continued speculation about how heavily Harley Quinn will factor into the series moving forward and now tipster Grace Randolph, who has had a solid and reliable track record when it comes to DCEU scoops, has claimed that the former Harleen Quinzel will be put on ice for the time being.
No I told you WB has Harley on hold after BoP did poorly at the box office
— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) July 10, 2020
After The Suicide Squad is released, there doesn’t really seem to be much of an avenue to bring Harley back in the immediate future anyway, with Warner Bros. likely hanging their hopes on Birds of Prey doing well enough to warrant a sequel before it flopped. Whatever happens, at least Robbie has another franchise to fall back on, having recently jumped onboard Pirates of the Caribbean.
