After Barbie grossed a fortune for Warner Bros. last year, one has to presume that the film's actress, Margot Robbie, has some clout within the company.
On paper, you'd think that if an actress who had just made the studio over a billion dollars went into David Zaslav's office and said she wanted to keep portraying Harley Quinn, he'd agree.
The actress has previously stated that Harley Quinn is an important role for her after portraying the character in 2016's Suicide Squad, 2020's Birds of Prey and 2021's The Suicide Squad. She also has an in with new DC Studios co-chair James Gunn, who directed the 2021 pic.
The wrinkle here is that Robbie has just revealed that she plans on taking an acting hiatus.
Speaking to Deadline, Robbie stated, "I also think everyone’s probably sick of the sight of me for now. I should probably disappear from screens for a while. Honestly, if I did another movie too soon, people would say, “Her again? We just did a whole summer with her. We’re over it.” I don’t know what I’ll do next, but I hope it’s a little while away."
Robbie, who is currently attached to star in an Ocean 11's prequel alongside her Barbie co-star Ryan Gosling, revealed that news of the project leaked a little too soon and that production won't ramp up for quite some time.
" Well, that’s still in development. Word got out about that; we didn’t release anything because it’s way too soon, to be honest. Whether it winds up being the next thing, I don’t know. I don’t think so. It’s a pretty big project to put together and there are certain logistical things that we have to time it around," Robbie explained.
If Robbie does indeed take a break, does that mean Harley Quinn is also off-limits for the foreseeable future?
Contrary to a recent rumor, Gunn just took to social media to let it be known that there are currently no plans to replace Robbie as Harley.
It seems rumor mongers misinterpreted Robbie's recent comments that she always saw Harley as a role that many other actresses would portray- similar to James Bond or...Batman. However, if you dig deeper, you'll discover that Robbie's response was to a question concerning Lady Gaga's upcoming turn as the psychotic psychiatrist in Joker: Folie à Deux.
After the 'Trinity' of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn is arguably DC Comics' fourth most popular character.
In the past DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee has said pretty much the same thing. "I refer to her as the fourth pillar in our publishing line, behind Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman," Lee told Vulture.
Harley Quinn is everywhere, from comics to animation, merchandising, and film, and it would be insane for WB to reboot its DC cinematic world without any pre-planned preparations for such a popular character.
But if Robbie plans on disappearing from movie screens for a while but still wants to hold on to the role of Harley, what options are left to Gunn and WB?
While this likely isn't a pressing concern at the moment as the studio and Gunn are likely fully-invested in Superman: Legacy's pre-production, this situation is certainly worth keeping an eye on as DC fans eagerly await news on the rest of Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters' slate.