'Birds of Prey' Set Photos Hint at Harley Quinn and Joker Breakup

The Joker may have rescued Harley Quinn from Belle Reve at the end of Suicide Squad, but it looks [...]

By Nicole Drum

The Joker may have rescued Harley Quinn from Belle Reve at the end of Suicide Squad, but it looks like love may be over between the criminal lovebirds.

Brand new photos from the set of Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) show star Margot Robbie in full costume as Harley, giving a good look at the character's multiple tattoos. And, if you look closely, one of them seems to indicate that Harley is crossing Joker out of her life -- literally. Check them out below.

As you can see, Harley's thighs have quite a few tattoos on them with many of them related to the Joker. However, on the one that is most-clearly seen in the images -- the "Harley + Puddin" one -- "puddin" is very clearly crossed out. There's another tattoo that is a bit harder to see nearby that also appears to have "puddin" crossed out. Given that the word is Harley's trademark nickname for the Joker, that she's got him crossed out in her ink doesn't bode well for their love story.

A Harley without the Joker makes a lot of sense with what we know about the film thus far. Robbie originally pitched the film to the studio as a "girl gang" movie that sounds like unlike anything we've ever seen in superhero films before -- and there probably isn't much room for the Joker in that girl gang.

"I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, 'Harley needs friends.' Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film," Robbie told Collider. "She's got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn't seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. SO that was always a big part of it."

There's also the idea that Harley will be doing something heroic rather than villainous that also creates a space where being with the Joker wouldn't exactly make sense for the fan-favorite character. Birds of Prey will see Harley team up with Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell(, and Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to take on classic Batman villain, the crime lord Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).

However, just because Harley's relationship with Joker may be over in Birds of Prey doesn't mean that he's necessarily alone. Additional recent set photos have teased that Harley's hyenas, Bud and Lou, may be coming to the DCEU. The photo features Harley looking into the cages at Murray's Exotic Animals, perhaps to pick out the pets. As fans know, Bud and Lou first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series (along with Harley) and were previously owned by The Joker. Harley eventually took them under her care where they became fiercely loyal to her. Anyone menacing Harley may just want to beware because Bud and Lou will take them out for sure.

What do you think about these latest set photos? Do you think Harley and the Joker have broken up? Let us know in the comments below.

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) hits theaters on February 7th, 2020.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we react to the major Batman movie news that just dropped; talk wrestling with a WWE Royal Rumble recap; and defend geek culture from celebrity political pundit Bill Maher, after he took shots at Stan Lee's legacy!

4comments
Comments ( 4 )

of