Margot Robbie out as Harley Quinn: Barbie star’s time with DC may be over

It seems Margot Robbie’s time in the DC Universe could be officially over as indicated by James Gunn’s newest comments about DC’s cinematic future.

When it comes to perfectly cast characters, DC hasn’t exactly had the best track record in recent years with many of studios’ casting decisions causing confusion and backlash among fans. For every Ben Affleck and Ezra Miller though, there has been a standout such as Gal Gadot and Margot Robbie.

Gadot and Robbie were two of the most brilliantly cast players in the entire DCEU, embodying their respective characters of Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. Their performances have been some of the best we’ve seen in the DC, with the characters becoming standouts in the DCEU.

Robbie in particular has been praised as one of the best castings in the superhero genre as a whole, and rightfully so. Robbie has perfectly captured Harley’s essence and brought fans a layered performance leaning into the many facets of the character. Her Harley is a charismatic, unpredictable, and multifaceted character, with a blend of humor, vulnerability, and insanity that makes her both entertaining and complex rather than a one-dimensional background player.

She singlehandedly helped save the first Suicide Squad movie and has been incredible in each of her outings as Harley including both in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. It’s hard to think of anyone else playing the character, yet it seems that might very soon become a reality.

DC actors James Gunn is keeping in the new DC Universe

As James Gunn and Peter Safran look to reboot the DC Universe as we know it, they have been very adamant that the plan is to start from scratch with only a few characters making the jump from the DCEU to the DC Universe. There have been varying conversations regarding which characters and actors in particular would be included in the new era of DC. However, Gunn’s latest comments seem to hint the list of DC actors making the jump from the DCEU to the DC Universe might not be as long as we once thought.

When asked by a fan on Threads about what the future might hold for Blue Beetle and how the film of the same name might tie into the new DC Universe, Gunn assured the fan that Xolo Maridueña won’t be going anywhere. This wasn’t too surprising as it had been previously hinted that Maridueña would reprise his role as Blue Beetle in the new DC Universe with Gunn even calling the film part of his new universe when promoting the movie.

What was surprising was that rather than simply assuring the fan that Maridueña would continue to play Blue Beetle, Gunn chose to also add further clarity regarding a few other characters who will also be sticking around. While that’s great, the decision has cast doubts about the future of many key DCEU stars including Margot Robbie and Gal Gadot as both actresses’ names were not mentioned by Gunn as continuing in the new DC Universe he’s building with Safran.

"“Xolo Maridueña will continue playing Blue Beetle in the DCU, as Viola Davis will Amanda Waller, and John Cena will Peacemaker,” Gunn commented on Threads."

It’s possible that Gunn only chose to mention Cena and Davis due to the fact that both are attached to previously confirmed projects. However, one would think if he wanted to reassure fans about the future of current DCEU characters he sees as a priority for the DC Universe the likes of Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Gadot’s Wonder Woman would have also made the list.

In omitting their names from the conversation, Gunn has once again fed into rumors that there might not be a place for Gadot’s Wonder Woman or Robbie’s Harley Quinn in the new universe being built.

Gunn has been quick to debunk rumors about projects starring the two actresses and has often beat around the bush when asked about bringing Robbie back as Harley.

Just this March when asked about working with Robbie again, Gunn noted he’d “for sure” work with the actress again but never offered any glimpse of hope regarding that work being for a new DC project. And when rumors about a Harley-centric project, Gunn had no problem shutting the rumor down without offering any promising tease of Harley perhaps returning in some capacity.

Of course, there is a chance that Gunn will look to keep Robbie around in the DC and is holding that card close to his hand. However, we’re not feeling the most optimistic about Robbie’s future in the DC Universe.