Harley Quinn Actress Margot Robbie Praises Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker

Back in 2016 Margot Robbie made her debut in the DCEU alongside Jared Leto as the iconic DC Comics couple Harley Quinn and The Joker. And while Robbie is slated to return to the role in the upcoming Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) film in February, the Joker character has taken a much different turn in recent years. Leto hasn’t appeared in any DC film since, while Joaquin Phoenix utterly dominated a new interpretation of the character in Todd Phillips’ Joker back in October and raked in a billion dollar dollars at the box office. During a new interview with Variety, Robbie was asked to give her thoughts on how Phoenix reimagined the character.

“[Phoenix] did a phenomenal job,” Robbie said. “I feel like the ‘Joker’ film was much more grounded. Ours is different. It’s heightened.”

Robbie also confirmed previous reports during the interview that Joker won’t be seen in the movie, even in a cameo role. The villain for the film will be violent mobster Black Mask, played by Ewen McGregor.

Elsewhere in the interview, Robbie explained that she wanted Birds of Prey to have an R-rating from the get-go. According to her, this idea was set in motion before other R-rated comic book films like Deadpool and Logan became major box office hits, disproving the idea that superhero movies can’t be targeted at adults.

“She really wanted to see Harley with girlfriends, Harley in a girl gang,” writer Christina Hodson explained. “Harley is such a naturally sociable character. And I think there was just a general longing to see girls together on screen — women being friends.”

Check out the full description for Birds of Prey below.

“After splitting up with The Joker, Harley Quinn and three other female superheroes – Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya – come together to save the life of a little girl (Cassandra Cain) from an evil crime lord.”

Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is directed by Cathy Yan and stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ewan McGregor, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Bojana Novakovic, Jenelle McKee, Ali Wong, and Matthew Willig.

The film is set for a Feb. 7 release date. Other DC films current on the release schedule include Wonder Woman 1984 (June 5, 2020), The Batman (June 25, 2021), The Suicide Squad (Aug. 6, 2021) and Aquaman 2 on Dec. 16, 2022.