One of the most iconic DC characters, regardless of gender, is Harley Quinn. There have been many literary, television, animated, and cinematic reiterations of the character. The origin story of the character has been varied and complex with the televised series and comic strips. Harley Quinn had a main stream cinematic debut when Margot Robbie was roped in for the 2014’s ‘The Suicide Squad’.
After the immense success of David Ayer’s ‘The Suicide Squad’, Quinn got a prominent stature in the DCEU as well. Margot Robbie conceived ‘Birds of Prey’ when she wanted to have a girl’s squad film. The actress’ last appearance as Joker’s love interest was in James Gunn’s 2021’s ‘The Suicide Squad’. Now, Lady Gaga will be taking the reins and creating an even a more fatal Harley Quinn with Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. But, there will be certain distinctions in the two iterations of the character.
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Origin Of Harley Quinn
It is a fascinating story to look at the origin of one of the most interesting, lethal, yet favorite DC characters. Paul Dini gave life to Harley Quinn and Arleen Sorkin gave the jester origin to Quinn. It was inspired from one of the characters she played in a show called ‘Days of Our Lives’.
Sorkin’s character inspired Dini to create Harley Quinn, with little modifications, for the ‘Batman: The Animated Series’. The series looked at the lethality and turbulent relationship that she shares with Joker. Sometimes a foe and sometimes a lover, Harley got an interesting arc.
However, the 1994 DC Comic ‘Mad Love’ established the origin story of Quinn as Harleen Quinzel, the psychiatrist to the Joker at Arkham Asylum in Gotham City. Since then, Quinn was adapted on television and in Comics. She even got her standalone comic strip called ‘Harley Quinn’ and also an animated series.
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How Will Lady Gaga’s Portrayal Differ From Margot Robbie’s?
In August 2022, Little Monsters were elated to see their Mother Monster playing Harley Quinn in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. It will also star Joaquin Phoenix, who will reprise his Oscar-winning performance as Joker. It will be the first musical film in the DC Extended Universe.
So, the first major difference between Margot Robbie’s and Lady Gaga’s portrayals will be that Harley Quinn will be staging a performance with song and dance. There was an instance of little performative streak that Margot presented in ‘Birds of Prey’. But, now Gaga will have a fully-fleshed musical.
The most common Quinn trope in all the media is that she plays the psychiatrist to the Clown Prince. However, this Todd feature will defy the trope and may present her as a patient in the asylum. KC Walsh of The Direct reported about this alternate storyline in a now-deleted tweet.
It is highly possible because ‘Joker’s Asylum II: Harley Quinn #1’ features Harley as one of the patients at Arkham Asylum. ‘The Suicide Squad’ released in 2014 did brush upon her origin story, but ‘Bad Romance’ songstress will have the full origin story of the character.
Another common trope seen in the portrayal of Robbie’s character is the humor and action orientation. There are scenes with Leto’s Joker where she is seen kicking some asses. However, if we learned anything from Phillip’s treatment of Joker, there might be another psychological telling of a menacing character without any decorative narrative. So, we may see Gaga at the 97th Academy Awards ceremony then!
DCEU has this habit of having diverse narratives for its characters. Robert Pattinson’s Batman was different from that of Ben Affleck, who plays Batman in the larger narrative. So, unlike Margot Robbie who had a larger role in the grand scheme of things, Lady Gaga may not be a part of this web of DCEU films.
The Actress Has Approved Lady Gaga As Harley Quinn
Margot Robbie was the sole reason to have revitalized the interest of the fans in Harley Quinn. She first starred in ‘The Suicide Squad’ in 2014 along with other actors like Cara Delevingne (Enchantress) and Jared Leto (Joker). The film was panned critically and commercially. Since then, she has starred in two films last being James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’.
‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ actress approved of Gaga playing Harley Quinn in DC’s next. During an interview, she said, “It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor”.
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