James Gunn Says Harley Quinn Will Join the DCU Eventually, and if Margot Robbie Wants to Play Her He'll 'Bend Over Backwards to Explain That in the World'

James Gunn has addressed the situation with Margot Robbie’s much-loved take on Harley Quinn, and whether she’s canon in the ongoing DC Universe.

Robbie played Quinn in David Ayer’s 2016 movie, Suicide Squad, 2020’s Birds of Prey, then James Gunn’s sort of sequel, The Suicide Squad. Since then, Gunn has rebooted the DCU, with Quinn so far nowhere to be seen.

The question of whether Robbie’s Quinn is canon is a big one for the DCU, because while some characters from The Suicide Squad have gone on to appear in the DCU (Peacemaker chief among them), not all have. So, is Robbie’s Quinn a part of the DCU or not?

In a special The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon? podcast, Gunn explained the difficulty he has making a call on Robbie’s version of Quinn.

“I think Harley is actually one of the more difficult things in this to justify as being canon in the DCU,” he said.

Quinn is a character who goes hand in hand with Batman’s arch villain, the Joker, who, similarly, has yet to show up in the DCU. The question of whether Quinn and Joker have broken up remains unanswered after some cryptic words from Quinn herself, but, according to Gunn, either way, it would be difficult to introduce Quinn into the DCU without Joker.

“Harley's relationship to the Joker is specific, right?” Gunn said. “Well, we definitely haven't established the Joker yet in the DCU at all. We've established Batman. We've already seen that he exists. We've seen him in Creature Commandos for a glimpse, but we don't know if Joker exists yet. And obviously, Joker is a part of Harley's past.”

But would Margot Robbie even want to reprise her role, should the opportunity present itself? Gunn said “she may be over that,” which doesn’t sound great for Robbie’s role in the DCU.

“Margot Robbie is one of my favorite actors to work with,” he said. “She is so good in the movie. Like, we were watching her last night. We were laughing so hard at so much of the stuff she does. She's just so crazy. I love her as Harley. I don't know if she wants to play Harley again. She may be over that.”

Since playing Quinn, Robbie has gone on to become “kind of the biggest female star in the world,” Gunn continued. “And so, I don't know where Margot's head is with all of this.”

In 2023, Robbie hit even greater heights of fame by playing Barbie in 2023’s box office blockbuster of the same name. More recently, she played Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights, and is set to star in the Ocean's Eleven prequel.

Still, Gunn would love for Robbie to play Quinn once again, and said he’d make the canon make sense if she fancied giving the character another go.

“Harley is a character I'm almost certainly going to use in the DCU. And if Margot wants to play her, then I'll bend over backwards to explain that in the world,” he said. “But if she doesn't, right, then I might go with somebody else where I don't have to be attached to what happens to Harley in this movie. That's really the situation.

“So what I'm saying is Margot is the one who has to decide whether or not Suicide Squad is canon. This is all on you!”

Elsewhere in the podcast — and this may be related to Harley Quinn — Gunn confirmed that DC Studios is finally getting ready to cast the DCU's Batman.

Next up for the DCU is 2027’s Superman follow-up Man of Tomorrow. Check out our feature, Every Upcoming New DC Movie and TV Show: 2026 Release Dates and Beyond, for more.