The Suicide Squad may have been a box office juggernaut and given the world Margot Robbie’s headlining Harley Quinn. But with Birds of Prey now heading towards release, Warner Bros. is cutting all ties possible to shift the focus to Harley Quinn’s future, instead. Sorry, Joker.
This may all be confirmation at this point, since the writing has been on the wall for months, if not years. After Suicide Squad took a beating with critics, the moves to lift Robbie’s Harley out of the franchise and into one of her own started almost immediately. Now it seems Jared Leto’s Joker is over, with introductory scenes to Birds of Prey confirming Harley’s break-up. It’s as explicit a fresh start as audiences can be shown before the actual movie arrives. But if there were any doubts, the Birds of Prey producer is putting them to rest.
Screen Rant had the opportunity to visit the set of Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) during production in March, where we spoke with producer Sue Kroll about the new film’s connections to the existing DCEU. And even if the first trailer for Birds of Prey had Suicide Squad energy, the official word is making a clean break with Harley’s debut DCEU adventure:
Would you say this film has similarities to Suicide Squad? Or what are some of the biggest differences?
When we last Saw Harley Quinn she was in prison getting broken out by the Joker. Do we find out how she gets to this point? Are we going to see the Joker again, and are we going to see that separation?
I don’t think it has any similarities to Suicide Squad, except that we have Harley at the center of it. I mean her character really is the one that popped out of Suicide Squad, so all of the amazing things that people embraced about her we have in our movie, and then some. We have this unique opportunity, right? We have two hours, or whatever the movie winds up being, the opportunity to exploit and add dimension and context around what is, I think, arguably one of the world’s favorite characters out of the DC Universe. So she’s the thing that’s the same, but other than that it’s a standalone story. And uniquely its own.
While Kroll’s words can be read with a harsh tone, it should be emphasized that this sentiment, like all others heard during our visit, were intended to clear up any possible confusion. Yes, Harley Quinn will break up with Joker before the events of Birds of Prey begin (in fittingly dramatic fashion). But in sharp contrast to the MCU – which is more or less beholden to past missteps or alterations, since one film is built on the last – Warner Bros. is starting fresh. It’s an approach closer to actual comics, in which Harley Quinn is a clearly established character whose particular status or backstory is explained as part of the latest story.
Well you’ll see it in the movie, it’s a standalone movie, it’s not connected to Suicide Squad. It’s not a sequel, it’s not a continuation of that story. So it has nothing to do with her break out of prison. But you’re right, and we’ve been very upfront that this is about her emancipation. She and the Joker have broken up. This is her personal journey of discovery with these women. So it’s not related at all, so don’t try to apply linear logic to how the two go, because they don’t.
That may be a harder sell for general audiences, but if Suicide Squad’s reception was as bad as is now accepted, moviegoers are likely to go with the fresh start. At least, that’s clearly what Warner Bros. is hoping. On the creative side it’s an obvious perk, with writer Christina Hodson saying she was essentially given a clean slate for the Birds of Prey script. But only the film itself can show how willing audiences are to wipe their memories clean just as easily.
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