Suicide Squad was a mess

A messier, less-coherent movie released by a major studio would be very hard to find - clearly re-edited to death by a crack squad of panicked studio execs, they hastily sellotaped back together into something barely resembling a motion picture and released to cinemas. There one definite highlight, however – Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. Despite all the other nonsense on screen, Robbie’s take on the Joker’s ex was instantly iconic and will be cosplayed from now until the end of time. Suicide Squad 2 is supposedly still happening – it is officially just “delayed” at the moment – but we wouldn’t advise you to hold your breath. What has just been confirmed by Warner Bros though is Birds of Prey. While technically not being billed as a Harley Quinn solo movie, it is essentially a vehicle for Margot Robbie, and will see Harley assembling her own team of female heroes/villains. Warners Bros have set a release date of February 7 2020 for the film. The Birds of Prey title comes from a long-running DC Comics series focusing on Gotham City’s female crime fighters. Actors reported to have screen-tested for the film include Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Margaret Qualley, Cristin Milioti and Jurnee Smolett-Bell.

The actresses who've tested opposite Margot Robbie for Birds of Prey are Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Margaret Qualley, Cristin Milioti and Jurnee Smolett-Bell pic.twitter.com/XsbFaDtaK1

— Fandango (@Fandango) September 24, 2018

This isn’t the only Joker related movie being planned – another Suicide Squad spin-off focusing on Jared Leto and co-starring Robbie is also in development, with screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa recently saying it will be a cross between Bad Santa and This Is Us. And of course, there is also the Joaquin Phoenix-starring Joker, which appears to be completely unrelated to all these other films. Do we really need that many Jokers?