Aussie Actress Margot Robbie will be the maniacal Joker’s paramour in Warner Bros. Suicide Squad.
Collider reports Margot Robbie has signed up as Harley Quinn in Warner Bros. upcoming Suicide Squad film to be directed by David Ayer (Fury). It’s rumored Oscar winner Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream, Dallas Buyers Club) is being tapped for the role of The Joker. Will Smith, Cara Delavingne & Tom Hardy are all rumored to be on the short list for Suicide Squad team members. Suicide Squad is scheduled for a August 2016 release.
Interestingly enough, the now mega-popular character Harley Quinn’s genesis wasn’t the comics but the excellent Batman: The Animated Series. Dr. Harleen Quinzell was Joker’s psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. After many sessions, the Joker and Quinzell develop a prison romance which naturally the Joker uses to his advantage. Joker manipulates Quinzell into helping him escape, she takes on the persona of Harley Quinn (a play on Harlequin) and eventually joins him in a life of crime. DC’s most recent Suicide Squad, created by John Ostrander and Ryan Scott is an antihero team of incarcerated super villains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences, if they survive. The group operates out of Belle Reve Penitentiary, under the directorship of Dr. Amanda Waller. Thus, the Suicide Squad‘s existence helps to explain why many convicted villains in the D.C. Universe roam free without having heroes tracking them down until they, inevitably, attempt or commit another crime.
Harley Quinn, along with Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and Bronze Tige, are core members and though missions are typically successful, minor “red shirt” characters are killed which is a bit of an inside joke within the crew. If you want a great primer check out the latest DC Animated Film Batman: Assault on Arkham. It does a very nice job at laying out the kind of capers this “dirty dozen” group typically performs. One caveat, It earns its PG-13. It’s NOT for the kiddies so be forewarned. The film is set in the universe of the Batman video game franchise, and occurs after the events of Batman:Arkham Origins. The story focuses primarily on the Suicide Squad, particularly Batman villains Deadshot & Harley Quinn, with Batman in a supporting role. In the film, a Suicide Squad of six criminals is dispatched by Amanda Waller to break into Arkham Asylum where they must contend with the asylum’s inmates and The Batman as they attempt to complete their mission.
Art Credit ~ Warner Bros.