Harley Quinn to Return in James Gunn's Suicide Squad Reboot After All?

After claiming none of the original characters from 2016’sSuicide Squadwould be returning in James Gunn’s upcoming reboot for DC, the story has changed. And now it’s sounding very likely that Margot Robbie will reprise her role as Harley Quinn in this quasi-sequel simply titledThe Suicide Squad.

James Gunnwas originally brought onto writeThe Suicide Squadafter being fired fromGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3by Disney for old Twitter jokes not intended for the G rated crowd. Now, he’s in talks and pretty much locked in to direct the movie. When news broke that he’d decided to take the helm, it was widely reported that the filmmaker is working with a new set of characters in what will be a complete revamp of the entire series. While it was always expected that most of the cast would be scraped, some assumed that Margot Robbie and co-lead Will Smith will be back in some capacity. The initial report claimed that wasn’t happening, though.

That same report has been revised and updated. Sources very close to DC Films and Warner Bros. claim that Margot Robbie is 100% coming back to reprise her role asHarley Quinnafter she finishes shootingBirds of Prey, which is in production right now and also finds the popular actress playing Joker’s better half. There is no word yet if Will Smith will be back as Deadshot. The rest of the cast will be filled out with actors new to the franchise.

The Suicide Squadis said to hold James Gunn’s unique style and tone, which was prevalent in theGuardians of the Galaxymovies and made those such a hit at the box office. Some speculate that the director may be allowed to make a true R-rated adventure within the DCEU, which has only happened with the extended cut ofBatman V Supermanon home video. Though, as often happens, DC and Warner Bros. could get cold feet, and decided to keep this one in the realm of PG-13.

News of Margot Robbie’s return as Harley Quinn comes direct from Forbes, which updated their recent story on the state of DC Films.The Suicide Squadis going to head into production sometime in early 2020. If this truly pans out. We’ll be getting a double whammy of Harley Quinn goodness, with most calling her a bright spot in the somewhat dismalSuicide Squaddirected by David Ayer.Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)will arrive in theaters just in time for Valentine’s Day, debuting a week earlier on June 30, 2025. James Gunn’sThe Suicide Squadwill be one of 2021’s biggest summer tentpoles, hitting on August 6.