Joker 2’s Story Fixes A Huge DCEU Harley Quinn Mistake

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Joker: Folie à Deux will feature Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in a movie that can fix the DCEU’s original Harley Quinn mistake. Introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn went from the Joker’s sidekick to one of the most popular DC characters. Between comics and animation, Harley Quinn has been reinvented in the last 20 years, yet her cinematic legacy is relatively short.
So far, Harley Quinn has appeared in only three live-action movies. Margot Robbie played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016), Birds of Prey (2020), and The Suicide Squad (2021). Now, Lady Gaga will play Harley Quinn in the DC Elseworlds movie Joker: Folie à Deux.
Joker 2 Will Deliver The Harley Quinn Origin Story Suicide Squad Overlooked

Joker: Folie à Deux is expected to be Harley Quinn’s origin story, similar to how Joker showed how its titular character came to be. Harley Quinn’s origins have been explored in many media, starting with the DC Animated Universe’s The New Adventures of Batman & Robin. However, when it comes to live-action movies, the DCEU overlooked how Harleen Quinzel became Harley Quinn. Despite being Harley Quinn’s theatrical debut, Suicide Squad (2016) only showed Harley Quinn’s origin story through a montage. There was no emotional weight attached to it, and Margot Robbie never really got to play Harleen Quinzel in the DCEU.
Ben Affleck’s Batman had been fighting crime for 20 years by the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Therefore, most of Batman’s villains should indeed already exist at that point in the DCEU timeline. Still, limiting Harley Quinn’s flashbacks to a quick montage was a mistake. Harley Quinn is one of the most complex DC characters, and not every story nails her relationship with the Joker. Suicide Squad barely explored Harleen Quinzel’s trauma and how the Joker manipulated her. Joker: Folie à Deux now has the chance to deconstruct Harley Quinn and present audiences with a more elaborated, well-paced origin story.
Why Joker 2’s Harley Quin Backstory Will Be Different From The DCEU’s

Joker 2 will likely show how Harleen Quinzel became Harley Quinn, but it will for sure be a different origin story from the DCEU. In fact, Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn is expected to be a lot different from the usual DC canon. Todd Phillips’ Joker (2019) reinvented its titular character and added several new elements to the Joker’s story. For example, Arthur Fleck is not a character from DC Comics but rather an original creation. The Joker does not have an established origin story in the comics, although The Killing Joke made the “vat of acid origin” quite popular. Essentially, Joker took a lot of creative liberties with the Joker.