It probably doesn’t surprise a lot of people that Harley Quinn has taken off as a character. On paper, she’s already an engaging character, and on-screen, her various animated forms had often brought tons of fan acclaim along with it. However, it wasn’t always a sure thing. Fans weren’t sure that star Margot Robbie would be able to successfully capture her essence, and who knew if the character would even have a future of Suicide Squad flopped right out of the gate.

Even star Margot Robbie wasn’t quite sure initially, and as she revealed in an interview with BBC Radio 1, all she had to go off of were a few Skype conversations with Suicide Squad director David Ayer. Plus, given that Harley was only one part of a larger squad, she didn’t realize how big of a splash she would make with fans.

That is until her first San Diego Comic-Con.

“I literally pitched [Birds of Prey] right after going to Comic-Con. Or that’s when I started putting the pitch together,” Robbie said. “I went to Comic-Con, we were halfway through Suicide Squad, and I was definitely taken aback by how much enthusiasm there was for Harley. The movie wasn’t out. The movie wasn’t even finished shooting and everyone was dressed as Harley.”

Robbie continued: “I was like ‘Whoa, I think there’s gonna be a bit of heat around this character, and if there’s this kind of response then the studio might want me to play her again, and if that’s the case, I’d like it to kind of be on my terms.” I don’t want the character put in a situation that really doesn’t behoove her. I thought, ‘Okay, everyone’s going to want to see Harley and Joker, but what I really want to see was a girl gang film.’ And I don’t get to see action films with a female ensemble ever.

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What has come from this is truly a unique situation. Of course, she’s not the only actor to take control of her roles creatively. Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise are well known for doing that themselves, but with these big characters, things are generally out of the actor’s hands. Even Robert Downey Jr., while he certainly had a say in the shaping of the character, he wasn’t spearheading things as Robbie seems to be doing here. 

With Harley Quinn, we seem to be having a truly unique situation where a lead is also one of the driving creative forces behind the movies she’s starring in, and I do think that’s super cool. As great as the MCU is in terms of its connectivity, I do think going the less centralized route that DC is going in has proven to be creatively fruitful for them with movies like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Shazam!, and Joker. Hopefully, the same will be said of Birds of Prey.

How do you feel about Robbie taking control of Harley’s narrative and pushing the character in a more solo direction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!

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SOURCE: BBC Radio 1