The Suicide Squad Director James Gunn Defends Margot Robbie’s Role In The DC Movie

Harley in The Suicide Squad's

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The DC Extended Universe has had a unique life in theaters, and the future seems bright. There are a slew of highly anticipated movies coming to theaters over the next few years, chief among them being James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Moviegoers are eager to see how the Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker's taste will translate to the DCEU, and how he moves on from David Ayer's original 2017 movie. Gunn has been sharing brief teases about the upcoming blockbuster, and recently shut down a fan who was complaining about Margot Robbie's inclusion as Harley Quinn.

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn made her debut in the first Suicide Squad movie before eventually getting her own spinoff with Birds of Prey. James Gunn's The Suicide Squad will mark her third appearance in the DCEU, but one fan recently alleged that Gunn was forced to include her due to studio interference. The filmmaker responded almost immediately, posting:

GTFO, she’s probably my favorite DC character. And Margot Robbie is probably the best actor I’ve worked with, bar none.

Well, that clears things up. It looks like James Gunn's vision for The Suicide Squad always included Harley Quinn, as he's one of the countless fans of the comic book character. And as he previously mentioned, Margot Robbie made a very strong impression on set, with Gunn praising her as one of the strongest performers he's ever worked with. That's saying something.

James Gunn's words about Margot Robbie come from his personal Instagram page. The filmmaker recently shared a piece of fan art with Harley and King Shark, to the delight of the fans. But one person on social media took umbrage with Harley's inclusion in the upcoming movie, and encouraged Gunn to "admit" to being forced to bring the femme fatale into the cast. Obviously the filmmaker made his true feelings known.

Moviegoers can re-watch the original Suicide Squad movie over on HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Harley Quinn has been apart of Task Force X plenty of times in the comics, so there's certainly precedent for Margot Robbie's character to appear in The Suicide Squad. And when James Gunn was in talks to direct a DC movie, he was given his choice of properties. But the squad have his favorite adventures on the page, thus The Suicide Squad was born-- complete with Harley.

While the contents of the movie are being kept under wraps, the teases from The Suicide Squad's cast and crew have only helped to build anticipation. Gunn himself called his DC debut the biggest movie he's ever made, as well as the most fun he's had on set. The filmmaker assembled a huge ensemble of established actors, most of which are playing unknown villains from DC lore. And smart money says they won't all make it out alive.

The Suicide Squad is currently expected to hit theaters on August 6th, 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your trips to the movies next year.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.