Birds of Prey brings a lot of new faces to the DC Extended Universe but with Harley Quinn taking centre stage, fans are anxious to know whether she's reunited with The Joker...or Batman!
Her relationship with the Clown Prince of Crime was explored in
Suicide Squad, while we also got to see her briefly interact with the Caped Crusader when he apprehended the villain in Gotham City. So, do either one of those characters make an appearance during Harley's fantabulous emancipation?
Nope.
Batman's absence from Gotham City is never referenced and the closest we get to a mention of Batman (aside from a throwaway comment during a conversation between Harley and Cassandra Cain in the supermarket) is when Harley talks about her pet hyena Bruce being named "after that hunky Wayne guy." It's disappointing, but with Batfleck gone, probably not a major surprise.
As for Jared Leto's Joker, some footage from
Suicide Squad is reused for flashback purposes, but
Birds of Prey otherwise uses only a body double who is shot from behind for shown in silhouette form as Harley reflects on their breakup and moments from the past. His face is never shown and when he does appear in animated form or as drawings, he doesn't really resemble Leto's version.
So, there you have it. How do you guys feel about their absence from
Birds of Prey?
Hit the "Next" button to look through some photos
from the recent world premiere of Birds of Prey!
Birds of Prey is technically a
Suicide Squad spinoff, but it doesn't sound like the movie will feature more than a few passing references to the divisive big screen debut of Task Force X.
Margot Robbie will, however, be reprising the role of Harley Quinn in James Gunn's
The Suicide Squad so there are bound to be at least some nods there to her previous adventures with the team.
As for the rest of
Birds of Prey's characters, we don't know what the future holds in store, but they could very easily appear in their own spinoffs or (more likely) a sequel.
Common sense says that the team will assemble by the time the credits roll, and whteher that will include Harley is hard to say, especially as she's never traditionally been a member.
Of course, most fans are far more excited about the prospect of seeing Harley with her fellow
Gotham City Sirens, a movie which appears to have been put on hold for now.
Should
Birds of Prey prove to be a box office hit,
Gotham City Sirens will almost certainly happen, but it's hard to say whether David Ayer will be taking the helm of that now.
Equally as uncertain is the fate of that
Joker vs. Harley Quinn movie, but based on recent comments from Robbie, exploring that relationship isn't something she's remotely interested in.
It definitely would have been interesting to see more of Jared Leto's Joker after his limited role in
Suicide Squad, but the actor isn't happy with how Warner Bros. treated him so don't bank on it!
In the comics, Cassandra Cain becomes Batgirl, but there's currently no sign that will happen in
Birds of Prey and most fans would rather see the Barbara Gordon version anyway!
That character's future remains a mystery, of course, because while there has been talk of a solo film for the character, it's been a long time since we've heard anything concrete about that.
As has become the norm with Warner Bros., the DC slate is very much still up in the air, but it has started to take shape recently and we do now have quite a few films to look forward to.
Female-led superhero movies definitely feel like the name of the game for 2020, especially as we still have
Black Widow and
Wonder Woman 1984 to look forward to over the coming months.
As for
Birds of Prey, box office projections are solid and it could be the start of a brand new franchise for Warner Bros. The question is, would Harley Quinn be included in that?
After all, her name is in this movie's title so Warner Bros. might have to wait and see how fans respond to the other characters before deciding whether to put the spotlight just on them.
Harley certainly isn't a natural fit for the Birds of Prey team, but there are no doubt many ways she could factor into a follow-up, and she's easily one of Warner Bros.' biggest draws.
Honestly, a solo movie somewhere down the line seems certain and that could actually be a good place to bring Poison Ivy back to the big screen after a lengthy absence.
Robbie has said she's keen to explore that relationship (it takes a romantic turn in the comics) and Gotham City Sirens no longer really makes sense if Catwoman is off limits.
Bear in mind that Selina Kyle is set to be a big part of
The Batman so having her appear in a
Gotham City Sirens movie could ultimately conflict with what Matt Reeves has planned.
Are you guys excited for Birds of Prey when it arrives in theaters next week? Which of the movie's characters are you most looking forward to seeing in action? Share your thoughts below.