Rumor: Warner Bros. Developing Harley Quinn Film Inspired by HBO Max Animated Series

JB Augustine |

Dec 28, 2020

Birds of Prey was an undisputed, unmitigated flop but it seems that Warner Bros. isn’t yet ready to give up on the box office potential Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn.

Margot-Harley-BOP-Final-Shot

Though Quinn is already a key figure in next summer’s James Gunn-directed DC blockbuster The Suicide Squad, Geekosity’s Mikey Sutton reports that WB is already looking towards the character’s future.

Sutton claims they want to develop a solo movie, or movies, based on the adult-oriented Harley Quinn cartoon produced by and starring Kaley Cuoco. “I am now hearing there are discussions to have Quinn in a solo film, one that is closer in tone and continuity to her highly acclaimed and popular animated series on HBO Max,” he wrote.

It’s easy to see why WB would turn to take inspiration from the animated series’ mature humor and content, as Sutton points out how “the snarky, demented humor and dark, R-rated craziness of Harley Quinn has won over both male and female audiences, which Birds of Prey failed to do.”

Quinn’s alleged solo outing will take the production slot of the previously announced and quietly ‘postponed’ (or, as many fans believe, entirely scrapped) Gotham City Sirens, which would’ve seen Robbie potentially reunite with Suicide Squad director David Ayer for a female-centric team-up film.

However, it appears that the Quinn film will retain certain elements of Gotham City Sirens, particularly in the exploration of Quinn’s sometimes-romantic-sometimes-platonic relationship with fellow Batman villain Poison Ivy.

“What they’re talking about as well is to adapt Quinn’s BFF relationship with another villain, Poison Ivy, which is established in the cartoon,” wrote Sutton, who then noted that Jared Leto’s Joker would be out of the picture, despite the character’s rumored appearance in the upcoming release of Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League. “Ivy’s romantic interest in Quinn and vice versa would take her out of the Joker’s spell as they have no plans on having Jared Leto to return.”

Harley Quinn-Joker got served

Sutton also added that his insiders informed him “that the Quinn/Ivy/Kite Man bizarre love triangle”, which saw the D-list villain’s zany and awkward romantic involvment with Ivy spark a love triangle with Quinn as a third wheel, “would be explored with all of its comedic aspects intact.”

Kite-Man in "Batman" - DC Comics

Unfortunately for fans of the Cupid of Crime, the existence of such internal discussions doesn’t mean much, rumored or otherwise, as WB has tried and failed numerous times to get Robbie-led Harley Quinn projects off the ground. Aside from the aforementioned Gotham City Sirens, a proposed Harley & Joker film was said to be in production, which as of writing, has failed to materialize in any way, shape, or form.

Harley Quinn’s animated series, which began life as a DC Universe Original, has since moved permanently to HBO Max and was recently renewed for a third season.