Batman ’89 May Finally Be Getting Its Harley Quinn

A character seemingly inspired by Madonna has shown up on one of the cover for Batman ’89: Echoes, suggesting that the upcoming DC series — from Batman writer Sam Hamm — might be bringing Harley Quinn into the story. Joe Quinones’ cover for the first issue of the miniseries features a smiling figure looming in the background behind Batman, leaving fans (and our friends at ScreenRant) to guess that the story will riff on the time Madonna almost signed on to play a version of Harley. That wouldn’t be too shocking, since the first Batman ’89 miniseries featured a version of Two-Face in the likeness of Billy Dee Williams, and a version of Robin who looked like Marlon Wayans and wore the Neal Adams-designed costume for Burton’s franchise.

The Madonna connection also comes from an abandoned film: she was in talks for Batman Unchained, which would have taken place after Batman & Robin. Written by Mark Protosevich and set to be directed by Joel Schumacher, the movie would have taken the franchise in a darker and more realistic direction, and would have more firmly connected the Burton and Schumacher movies as a single canon.

In Batman Unchained, Batman and Robin would have squared off with Harley Quinn (Madonna), a toymaker who becomes unstable after learning that her father was Jack Napier/The Joker. Scarecrow would recruit her as his partner, and would have made his live-action debut in the film, which was originally set for a 1999 premiere. Batman & Robin made solid money at the box office, but nowhere near what Warners had been hoping, as it earned almost $100 million less than Batman Forever. As a result, Batman Unchained was scrapped, and Warner Bros. started figuring our what a rebooted Batman franchise might look like.

Fan-made trailers for the movie, using existing footage of the actors, have been popping up on YouTube for years, with the channel The Entity’s Lair creating a number with the name Batman Triumphant: Unchained. The Batman Triumphant name shows up in ScreenRant’s speculation piece as an alternate name for Batman Unchained.

Besides Batman ’89: Echoes, DC recently announced a miniseries set in the universe of Richard Donner’s Superman movies, titled Superman ’78: The Metal Curtiain. Both the original Batman ’89 and Superman ’78 miniseries will be released in a new boxed set, packaged with the spines designed to look like VHS tapes, next month.