Birds of Prey Director Reveals Harley Quinn's Real "Superpower"

For many DC fans, the best thing to come out of 2016's Suicide Squad movie was Margot Robbie's [...]

By Jenna Anderson

For many DC fans, the best thing to come out of 2016's Suicide Squad movie was Margot Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn. The beloved antihero is set to return to the big screen early next year in Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), and it sounds like audiences can expect a nuanced take on the character. In an interview with ScreenRant, Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan spoke about the film's approach to Harley, and how the character joining forces with heroes like Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and more will tap into her true "superpower".

"I think there's such a duality in Harley Quinn, even in just the blue and the pink, and Dr. Harleen Quinzel versus Harley Quinn," Yan explained. "Both sides of her are there, and she's still very much the smart doctor that she once was. She's still capable of armchair diagnosing anyone--we say that's part of her superpower. But then she can be so easily manipulated and has really low self-esteem and has all of the issues that Joker really brought out in her. So I think this is a great opportunity to explore the woman behind 'Harley Quinn,' and explore that duality, and dive deeper into her psyche. Yeah, we definitely do that."

In addition to introducing a bunch of beloved characters to the DC Extended Universe, it definitely seems like Birds of Prey has set out to explore the enigma that is Harley Quinn.

"I've always loved Harley," the film's screenwriter, Christina Hodson, told ComicBook.com last year. "I think she is so complicated and nuanced and interesting and is so full of completely opposing qualities. She is incredibly intelligent; she is a psychiatrist, but she's also incredibly silly and immature, and that balance between kind of sanity and madness, fun and frivolity and real intelligence, heart, was such a fun thing to be able play with. Harley takes that to the next level: she's a little bit of everything, and to be able to write a character like that is amazing. It's such a fun set of crayons to be coloring with. So I love her, but I also love what Margot brought to that character. And working with Margot on the character and on the story for the last three years has been a dream come true really."

Birds of Prey also stars Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain, Ewan McGregor as Black Mask, and Chris Messina as Victor Zsasz.

Upcoming DC movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, Black Adam on December 22, 2021, Shazam! 2 on April 1, 2022, The Flash on July 1, 2022, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.

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