Suicide Squad (2016) tells the story of a secret government agency who recruits imprisoned super villains to partake in a dangerous black ops missions and save the world. The film is based on the DC comic book super villain team of the same name. The ensemble cast is led by Will Smith, Jared Leto, and Margot Robbie. Despite the film grossing over $746 million worldwide, the film received generally negative reviews from critics.
However, Margot Robbie's performance as Harley Quinn was well received. The Australian actress won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie. In June 2021, actor Joel Kinnaman, who played Rick Flag in Suicide Squad, said he was disappointed in the film. "I thought the first 40 minutes of the film were great, and then there were conflicting visions, and it just didn’t end up being what we all hoped it was. It didn't feel like the movie that we hoped we were going to make."
Margot Robbie has portrayed Harley Quinn in three films over the past five years, as well as 2016's Suicide Squad, she reprized the role in 2020's Birds of Prey, and last year's The Suicide Squad. But the actress says she is now going to take a break from playing the part of the super villain and does not know when she might appear as Quinn again.
"It was kind of back-to-back filming Birds... and filming this, so I was kind of like, oof, I need a break from Harley because she's exhausting," the actress told EW. "I don't know when we're next going to see her. I'm just as intrigued as everyone else is.
But did you know Emma Roberts was originally offered the role of Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad. But why did she pass on the role?
Suicide Squad's Director Was Criticized For Harley Quinn's Portrayal
Director David Ayer has apologized for the many mistakes he and his co-creators made with Suicide Squad. His apology came in response to a tweet criticizing the way Margot Robbie's character Harley Quinn was "over sexualized."
Lauren Humphries-Brooks of the Citizen Dame podcast tweeted: “A female character in an abusive relationship is already political, my dude. The way your camera looked at her was political. The way you used her was political. You treated her as an object, and she still rose above it. That was political too.”
Ayer responded by tweeting: “Sadly her story arc was eviscerated. It was her movie in so many ways. Look, I tried. I rendered Harley comic book accurate. Everything is political now. Everything. I just want to entertain. I will do better.”
Emma Roberts Turned Down 'Suicide Squad' For 'Scream Queens'
It's hard to imagine Harley Quinn being played by any other actress than Margot Robbie. The Oscar-nominated star did an incredible job of making the role her own. Before Margot Robbie was cast in Suicide Squad, the role of Harley Quinn was offered to Emma Roberts. But she turned it down in order to star in Fox’s satirical horror series Scream Queens.
The first season stars an ensemble cast consisted of Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer, Billie Lourd, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The story follows a sorority, Kappa Kappa Tau (KKT), which is targeted by a serial killer. On January 15, 2016, Fox renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on September 20, 2016. But the show was canceled on May 15, 2017, after two seasons.
Lady Gaga Will Play The Role Of Harley Quinn For The Joker Sequel
Margot Robbie may be unsure of if she will be playing Harley Quin again, but it has been confirmed singer Lady Gaga will be taking over the iconic role. She recently shared her thoughts on Lady Gaga‘s casting as Harley Quinn for the upcoming Joker sequel, Folie à Deux. Gaga will star alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the new film, which will reportedly be a musical. Phoenix won an Oscar for his role as Joker in 2019.
Speaking of Gaga’s casting, Robbie told MTV News: "It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way like Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor."
She continued: “It’s such an honour to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing,” she added. “I think she’ll do something incredible with it.”
