James Gunn says Harley Quinn is a character he is "almost certainly going to use" in the DC Universe, but the decision on whether Margot Robbie’s version counts as canon rests with Robbie herself. The DCU co-chief made the comments on a special episode of the podcast The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon?, and they leave the biggest fan question in the franchise hanging.

Robbie played Quinn in David Ayer’s 2016 film Suicide Squad, then in 2020’s Birds of Prey, and later in James Gunn’s follow-up, The Suicide Squad. Since then, Gunn has rebooted the DCU, and Quinn has not appeared. That absence is the core of the debate. Some characters from The Suicide Squad have carried over into the new universe, with Peacemaker the most prominent example. Others have not.

So where does Robbie’s Quinn stand? Gunn made it clear he finds the question difficult. "I think Harley is actually one of the more difficult things in this to justify as being canon in the DCU," he said.

The Joker problem

The hardest part of Harley Quinn’s story in the DCU is that she cannot be separated from the Joker, and the Joker has not shown up yet. Quinn is tied to Batman’s archenemy, and that connection shapes everything about her character. Gunn pointed out that the franchise has so far established Batman, and fans have seen him in Creature Commandos for a glimpse. The Joker, though, remains a mystery.

"Harley’s relationship to the Joker is specific, right?" Gunn said. "Well, we definitely haven’t established the Joker yet in the DCU at all. We’ve established Batman. We’ve already seen that he exists. We’ve seen him in Creature Commandos for a glimpse, but we don’t know if Joker exists yet. And obviously, Joker is a part of Harley’s past."

That past is also where the story gets murky. Whether Quinn and the Joker have broken up remains unanswered, following some cryptic words from Quinn herself. Gunn’s view is that either way, bringing Quinn into the DCU without the Joker would be difficult. The character’s history is too tangled to drop in on its own.

Will Margot Robbie want back in?

The bigger question may not be about the canon at all. It is about whether Robbie wants to play the role again. Gunn gave a candid answer, and it was not the kind fans were hoping for. "She may be over that," he said.

Gunn was quick to praise her work, though. "Margot Robbie is one of my favorite actors to work with," he said. "She is so good in the movie. Like, we were watching her last night. We were laughing so hard at so much of the stuff she does. She’s just so crazy. I love her as Harley. I don’t know if she wants to play Harley again. She may be over that."

He also acknowledged how far Robbie’s career has traveled since those early films. Robbie has become, in Gunn’s words, "kind of the biggest female star in the world." He added, "And so, I don’t know where Margot’s head is with all of this."

Her recent run makes that uncertainty even more interesting. In 2023, Robbie reached a new level of fame by playing Barbie in the box office blockbuster of the same name. More recently, she played Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights, and she is set to star in the Ocean’s Eleven prequel. With that résumé, a return to a comic-book supporting role is no longer an automatic yes.

Gunn is ready to make it work

Gunn still wants Robbie back. He said he would find a way to make the canon work if she is interested. The offer is clear, and it comes with a clear alternative if she passes.

"And if Margot wants to play her, then I’ll bend over backwards to explain that in the world," he said.

He was just as direct about the other path. "But if she doesn’t, right, then I might go with somebody else where I don’t have to be attached to what happens to Harley in this movie. That’s really the situation." In other words, the character is almost certain to appear in the DCU, but the actress behind her may not be.

Gunn then put the pressure squarely on Robbie. "So what I’m saying is Margot is the one who has to decide whether or not Suicide Squad is canon. This is all on you!"

A Batman casting update

Elsewhere in the podcast, Gunn confirmed that DC Studios is finally getting ready to cast the DCU’s Batman. He tied that development to Harley Quinn, though the source material does not spell out exactly how the two connect beyond that. The casting news also places the franchise at a turning point, with the Joker and Batman’s world still taking shape.

The next DCU release on the calendar is 2027’s Man of Tomorrow, the follow-up to the Superman film. For now, the Harley Quinn question stays open, and it rests with a single actress who has already given the role some of the most memorable performances in recent superhero film history.