Following the polemic premiere of the latest DC Entertainment movie “Suicide Squad”, most audiences left theaters fascinated by the portrayals of Jared Leto and Margot Robbie. Both actors played the leading roles of the Joker and Harley Quinn in the controversial anti-hero film.
In spite of an early shower of bad reviews from film critics, the public’s reception has ranged from mixed to good. Suicide Squad currently sits at 26% on the Tomatometer of the traditional film-rating site Rotten Tomatoes, which has sparked a movement among fans to boycott the site.
However, most attention around the premiere of the movie has gone to the beloved characters’ on-screen portrayal, spawning several rumors, theories, and announcements.
Despite the record-breaking $135 million domestic opening it had in the United States, some of the criticism aimed at the “Suicide Squad” adaptation is founded. What’s more, it is even backed by stars of the film.
DISCLAIMER: Possible spoilers ahead
‘Suicide Squad’: what is and what could have been
Tracing back to the source material for the movie, the ‘Suicide Squad’ comics which first featured Harley Quinn as part of the team were the “Suicide Squad Vol. 4” issues, in which the Clown Princess already has an established relationship with The Joker.
Moreover, this continues with the second iteration of comics since The New 52 revamp, called “New Suicide Squad” and in which a new team member joins the squad: a female supervillain called Joker’s Daughter.
Margot Robbie and Jared Leto made waves ever since the news of their casting hit the web, particularly for how certain and promising the actors were cast for the characters. Fans were gladly surprised with the release of the first trailers and later with the premiere of the film, in which their suspicions were mostly confirmed.
However, in contrast to the comics, Harley Quinn is not a character that has been prominently featured in the DC Extended Universe. For this reason, it was necessary to introduce some background on the relationship of these iconic characters.
While the comic had several issues and different stories illustrating the highly dysfunctional relationship between Harley Quinn and The Joker, the film failed to portray a detailed connection. Furthermore, one of the main criticisms of the movie is the abrupt difference between the final cut and the first trailers.
Jared Leto himself expressed his disappointment with the final cut of the film, claiming that several of his scenes were left on the cutting room floor. Moreover, some of these scenes reportedly depicted a more in-detail origin and background of Harley’s relationship with Gotham’s most wanted.
Nevertheless, the film’s ending at least leaves open the possibility of a sequel or a spin-off in which Warner Bros and DC can make justice to the story of these iconic characters.
Margot Robbie wants a Harley Quinn and The Joker spin-off of #SuicideSquad https://t.co/UQe8ODILWL pic.twitter.com/GNM0ucMsDq
— NME (@NME) August 10, 2016
Harley and The Joker: back on the small screen or the big screen?
Even before the box office success that was “Suicide Squad” premiered, talks about the future of the characters had already made the rounds.
Margot Robbie claimed during an interview earlier this week that she would very much like to explore her relationship with The Joker on the silver screen if the opportunity arose. Moreover, Robbie’s comments follow allegations of a Harley Quinn spin-off which is reportedly already in the works.
Additionally, producers of the origin-story show Gotham have expressed their interests on introducing characters from Suicide Squad to the show, with Killer Croc and Harley Quinn atop the list. The show already features Jerome Valeska as a suspected proto-Joker, so the appearance of Harley on the show’s mythology would possibly give us a glimpse of how their manic relationship was born.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
