Since she debuted in 1992 on Batman: The Animated Series as the Joker’s moll, Harley Quinn has been a fan-favorite, eventually making her way into the DC Comics pages and then appearing in non-DC Animated Universe animated shows, animated movies and video games. However, Harley’s popularity increased especially dramatically when Margot Robbie played her in Suicide Squad, and she’s since returned to the role in Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad. With it having been rumored in recent months that Lady Gaga will play a different version of Harley in Joker 2, Robbie gave a great comparison about Harley Quinn and Batman, unquestionably two of DC’s most well-known characters.
Lady Gaga confirmed she’s starring in Joker 2 back in early August, and while there’s been no official word yet on who she’s playing opposite Joaquin Phoenix, it’s been strongly indicated it will be Harley Quinn, particularly since this upcoming movie’s title is Joker: Folie à Deux, that French term also known as “shared delusional disorder.” While chatting with Margot Robbie and her Amsterdam costars Christian Bale and John David Washington, MTV News’ Josh Horowitz asked the actress if it feels “weird” to her that someone like Gaga might have a different interpretation of this character she’s so well-known for, and Robbie responded:
It makes me so happy. Because I said from the very beginning that all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters like Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor. It’s like someone gets to do their Batman, or someone gets to do their Macbeth.
While Margot Robbie isn’t the first actress to portray Harley Quinn in live-action, much of the general public likely chiefly associates her with the role given what a commercial hit Suicide Squad was in 2016 and her later appearances in the DC movies. But assuming Lady Gaga is indeed playing Harley in Joker 2, Robbie isn’t bothered by this, because just like how multiple actors have left their stamp on Batman over the decades, she’s been wanting Harley to be a role that other actresses can tackle, rather than just have her holding down that live-action mantle. Robbie continued:
In not so many cases are there female characters. There’s Queen Elizabeth I. but beyond that, which I got to have a crack at as well, which I was honored to do, because Cate Blanchett got to do it, and now I get to be Queen Elizabeth I. It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing. I think she’ll do something incredible with it.
Once again, we don’t know with 100% certainty that Lady Gaga is playing Harley Quinn, but should that come to pass, Margot Robbie is interested to see her take on the character. And rest assured, this version of Harley would be quite different from Robbie’s interpretation, as the Joker continuity is more grounded compared to the DCEU, to the point that there isn’t even a Batman to deal with the Clown Prince of Crime… yet. So while Joker 2 has been reported to chronicle the love story between Gaga’s Harleen Quinzel and Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck in a movie musical setting, Gaga should have plenty of room with making her version of Harley stand out from Robbie’s.
Joker 2 is positioned on the upcoming DC movies slate for October 4, 2024, and along with Todd Phillips returning to direct and co-write the sequel with Scott Silver, Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix will be joined in the cast by fellow returning star Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Jacob Lofland. As for Margot Robbie, it’s unclear when we’ll see her play the DCEU’s Harley Quinn again, but the actress did say shortly before The Suicide Squad came out that she would like to see a romantic relationship between her character and Poison Ivy play out.
