Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey movie?

So apparently this is a thing now, instead of a Harley solo movie or that stupid Joker/Harley spin off concept. Is it a good idea? Probably not.

As we all know, DC has skipped all the solo movies and jumped straight into the team ups with Suicide Squad, Batman vs Superman and more recently Justice League. These movies have not been very well received critically.

Maybe they're desperately trying to avoid Marvel comparisons but when Marvel is doing nearly everything right and DC is giving us dumpster fires like Suicide Squad under the misguided notion that 'it's what the fans want!' it's hard NOT to compare the two.

Oh DC. Why can't you make your cinematic universe work? Why are you so insistent on cramming a tarted up imitation of Harley Quinn down our throats instead of working on actual scripts and plot lines? Sure, sex sells I guess but could you not use another DC bombshell instead of destroying Harley's entire character?

Suicide Squad? More like Harley Quinn and some other characters that sometimes do things.

I mean, Katana has a lot more history with the Birds of Prey than Harley does, if anyone should be forced into there from Suicide Squad, it should be her! 

To make things worse, this constant focus on group movies means that it WILL be Suicide Squad all over again, with no time for anyone but Maggot Robbie's flat ass. Let's be honest. It's not going to be a Birds of Prey movie.. it's going to be a Harley Quinn vehicle with some minor parts for what should be major freakin' characters like Oracle, Black Canary and Huntress. She's going to bend over again and again in her stupid hot pants and shit all over more characters I love, while quipping non funny lines in a stupid "I'm trying to be Harley Quinn!" voice.

Hands up who wants to ruin another movie!

We also get people going oh well, it's a huge step forward because it's going to have an indie female director and Maggot has a huge say in the script and etc etc.. Marvel has yet to do that!

Now that's a conflict and a half because YAY for progress but I'm apprehensive about Maggot basically having so much sway over this movie. Come on, has anyone looked at Will Smith's career? He started off good and slowly began having movies change to SUIT HIM instead of the other way around. AND he went on to be a terrible, TERRIBLE Deadshot.

I'll admit, I don't know too much about being a producer in the movie business. Maybe it's like getting a writing credit on on of Beyonce's songs, where you just have to walk past the door to get your name on the list. Maybe she won't have that much power. I don't know.







Film School Rejects had this to say:

Over the years, Harley Quinn has appeared repeatedly in “Birds of Prey.” In 2002, the character was chosen to be the main antagonist for the WB’s short-lived television series. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off star Mia Sara portrayed the psychotic doctor with a Joker fetish and is barely recognisable from the Harley Quinn we know from Batman: The Animated Series and Suicide Squad.

Whatever your thoughts regarding the original David Ayer film, Margot Robbie delivered a standout performance. If my regular tours through various comic cons and their endless parades of Harley Quinn cosplay have taught me anything, it’s that her interpretation of the character struck a serious chord with the fan-base. Hiring Cathy Yan to lead this next phase for the character signifies a fresh approach, and that is an action worth celebrating.

Which... alarmed me quite frankly because this guy doesn't seem to know what he was talking about.

In the comics, yeah, she appeared in Birds of Prey. For like three issues. Bit parts. She was part of the Secret Six. The other Birds of Prey is the TV show that I've been slowly re-watching and reviewing on this blog. 

This guy claims that Mia Sara's portrayal was a far cry from what we had seen on BTAS but offers no such criticism of Maggot Robbie, praising her performance. What this guy doesn't say - or probably doesn't even know - is that Birds of Prey (2002) was an Elseworlds TV show. As in, they use the character, but it's different from the 'mainstream' interpretation. 

While that show was not the best in terms of acting, script or special effects - their Harley Quinn (admittedly, a sometimes scenery chewing villain but was easily the most enjoyable character) was a lot better than Suicide Squad's. 

1. She dressed in black and red
2. She actually used her psychiatry smarts 
3. She was able to pull strings behind the scenes
4. Was actually funny
5. Committed crimes
6. Was shown to be a bit off the rails
7. Played an intellectual villain against master brain Oracle
8. Still loved the deceased Joker but had come into her own
9. Was more faithful to her BTAS namesake's origin
10. Was very good at hiding her true intentions/identity
    

Meanwhile Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn:

1. Used pink and blue for some reason
2. Got her patients machine guns and.. cat toys...?
3. Had to be front and centre and completely obvious at all times
4. Couldn't be funny to save her life
5. Stole a handbag..? 
6. 'Played crazy'
7. Unlike Assault on Arkham - had literally no use in this setting. 
8. Gave us a really badly staged romanticised abusive relationship
9. Was based off the crappy New52 reboot that essentially ruined her character
10. Acted like an outright idiot on several occasions. 

So yeah, wasn't impressed reading his article and can only assume we're going to next get fans who don't know shit about jack who have read this or similar articles and they'll go 'oh yeah, Harley was in that show and the comics, she should totally be in this Birds of Prey movie!' 

Um, no. Just no. 

Personally, I believe that if Harley should be in anything else movie wise in the current state of the DCEU, it should be Gotham City Sirens. Birds of Prey needs to be their own thing, free of any constraints and cheap tie ins. 

I have my doubts though, I know I've mentioned before how very different the DCEU Harley is to what she was initially imagined as.. but the Harley that was in the Gotham City Sirens comic is also extremely different to what the DCEU one is. 

To the point where I don't think the comic can be done justice at all. If it's even going to be based on that comic, or if they're just going to use the name as a selling point.