The ending of Zack Snyder's Justice League was by far the most elaborate set of reshoots for the film.
The scene itself included the return of Ben Affleck's Batman, Joe Manganiello's Slade, Amber Heard's Mera, Ray Fisher's Cyborg, Ezra Miller's The Flash, and finally, Jared Leto's Joker.
Another vision of an apocalyptic future is seen by Bruce Wayne at the end of the film; Batman and Joker are butting heads as they prepare for their next move against Darkseid. In this scene, Batman actually mentions Harley Quinn's death to the Joker, which surprised some fans.
Zack Snyder talked about filming Harley Quinn's death in a potential Justice League sequel, but that was regulated to that one line from Batman in the Snyder Cut.
This entire sequence was something that Margot Robbie was completely unaware of until she was told in a recent interview.
MARGOT ROBBIE TOLD ABOUT HARLEY'S SNYDER CUT DEATH
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Margot Robbie was told the ultimate fate of Harley Quinn in Zack Snyder's Justice League. However, she had not seen the post-apocalyptic ending and was unaware of Batman describing how Harley had died in his arms.
"Whaaat?" Robbie said, shocked and completely unaware of that ending. She laughed it off and thanked the interviewer, "I didn't know that. Thank you for telling me!"
When asked about her thoughts about Harley Quinn dying in Snyder's film, Robbie said, "I guess it's kind of like the comics."
Robbie expanded on those thoughts, comparing the DCEU to the comics in that "the film version of the DC universe, I actually think they're a lot like the comics:"
"You pick up one comic and something's happening and then you pick up the next comic and maybe that character's not alive, maybe that character's not with that person, maybe that character looks completely different."
She described "each movie is its own sort of thing" and how things can change drastically from film to film like the comics:
"Each movie is its own sort of thing, and I think that works in the comic book world, and I think that works in the DC film world as well. It's not like Marvel where everything is more obviously linked in a more linear way. It feels like there's so many adjacent stories, worlds, and films happening at the same time, just like there are in the comics."
Robbie is undeterred by hearing Harley Quinn died in Zack Snyder's Justice League because "it doesn't necessarily change what other people are able to do with this universe" and its characters:
"So, yeah, I didn't know that, but it doesn't necessarily change what other people are able to do with this universe, I don't think. What one director decides I don't think dictates what another director might be able to pick up and do with the world and the characters, which is fun."
As a recent example, she said that James Gunn "didn't have to be beholden to the version that David Ayer set up:"
"I think that's an appealing aspect for directors in the DC world, they can make it their own, the way James did. He didn't have to be beholden to the version that David Ayer (director of Suicide Squad) set up. He could pick it up and make it his own, which I'm sure was more appealing for him."
A PROMISE TO HARLEY QUINN
The line in question is after Joker goaded Batman with the death of his former sidekick, Robin. Anger boiling over, Bruce tells Joker about a promise he made to Harley Quinn as she died in his arms; when he killed Joker, "that [he'd] do it slow:"
"You know, it's funny that you would talk about people who died in my arms. Because when I held Harley Quinn, and she was bleeding and dying, she begged me, with her last breath, that when I killed you -- and make no mistake, I will f***ing kill you... that I'd do it slow. I'm gonna honor that promise."
As for Harley's own future, it's up to Margot Robbie, who's planning to take a break from the character. But, of course, Harley only died in an alternate future that was going to be erased and averted even in Zack Snyder's own plans. So, there's no telling what the future holds for the criminal anti-hero.
Audiences can see Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn again in The Suicide Squad, premiering in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6, 2021.
