Margot Robbie has been absolutely critical to the past decade of DC movies with her take on Harley Quinn. In Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, and The Suicide Squad, she smashed it out of the park as Joker’s infamous beau, bringing maniacal energy, charisma, and an iconic outfit to life. Perfection!
But though she’s best known as Joker’s love interest, Margot Robbie wants the DCU to tell a very different romance story by pairing Harley Quinn with Poison Ivy. Both famous enemies of Batman, Harley and Ivy are two of the best DC characters of all time, and they’ve been explicitly romantically involved in the comics and DC animation since 2016, becoming a comic book power couple along the way.
Sadly, no matter how many times you watch all the current DC movies in order from start to finish (a brave endeavor for even the most devoted DC fan) this aspect of DC lore goes completely unaddressed. Boo! Now Robbie wants that to change. “I have been pushing for that for years. I cannot tell you how hard I’ve been pushing for that. I want it too,” she told Comicbook in 2022. “That would be so good,” she concluded, rightly.
As DC’s cinematic pursuits enter a new era, there’s no better time to introduce a Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy romance. As proven in the Harley Quinn animated series, there’s so much story potential in the idea of their relationship, both as they team up against famous DC heroes (and even battle the best DC villains, occasionally) and by exploring how it impacts their own personal growth.
Romance is often used in the best superhero movies as a plot device, adding stakes, and you simply can’t get a more fascinating romance than this one. The opportunities are limitless, and it sounds like the perfect basis for what could be one of the best movies from DC ever.
The truth is, though, that despite being absolutely perfectly cast as Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie could be one of the casualties of James Gunn’s DCU shakeup. The Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker, who recently took charge of the overall direction of the franchise and is rebooting the whole story, wants to start (almost) entirely from scratch with new actors for most characters when Chapter 1 Gods and Monsters (his equivalent of Marvel’s Phase 1) begins.
Reportedly, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, and Ezra Miller are all out as their former characters (though Momoa could return as Lobo instead), and Gunn’s idea of a ‘complete reset’ could also spell the end of Robbie’s reign as Harley Quinn. It’s hard to see who could replace her and do as good a job as she’s done, but a reboot so close to the end of the era preceding it was always going to be messy and come with its challenges.
Of course, even without Robbie we could (and should) still see the Harley Quinn / Poison Ivy romance come to life on the big screen in new movies. If Gunn is really committed to offering a fresh, bold, and exciting new direction for the franchise, their story could be absolutely pivotal. Do it, Gunn! We dare you.
For more DC action, check out our guide to everything we know about Superman Legacy, which will begin the new cinematic era. Or, keep up to date with the Aquaman 2 release date which will officially bring the SnyderVerse to a close. For a longer read, check out the five things we want from Gunn’s new DCU.