Margot Robbie returned to the role of Harley Quinn in 2020's Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, or Birds of Prey, depending on who you ask. The title was changed from the 11-word original because it underperformed at the opening box office ($33 million domestically), and this was an effort to improve the marketing.
The movie pinned Quinn against Ewan McGregor's Black Mask in an R-rated action-comedy driven by a recent breakup with Jared Leto's Joker. Black Canary, Huntress, Cassandra Cain, and Renee Montoya all teamed up to make their live-action DCEU debuts.
Despite much critical success amongst fans, the film severely underperformed. It only brought in just over $200 million at the global box office, roughly $800 million less than DC's 2019 R-rated film Joker. The lack of monetary success has put a possible sequel in question, while a Joker 2 has reportedly already been green-lit.
Harley Quinn herself has just commented on the future of the Birds of Prey franchise.
Birds of Prey 2 Not in the Works
In a recent interview with Den of Geek, Margot Robbie said "there’s no sequel in the works" for Birds of Prey. Robbie indicated that there's "no sequel in the works that I'm aware of:"
“I don’t know if that is on the horizon anytime soon. I don’t think it’s a no. But no, there’s no sequel in the works that I’m aware of at this stage.”
This statement comes in addition to comments made by Margot Robbie in December 2020.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Margot Robbie discussed her work with her production company LuckyChap Entertainment. During this, the actress was asked about the possibility of a Birds of Prey sequel, to which Robbie said:
“I don't know. Nothing imminent at this stage, nothing worth mentioning.”
UPDATE:
As of August 2022, there has been no additional word about Birds of Prey 2 entering development. Jurnee Smollett, who played Black Canary in the original Birds of Prey, did indicate in May 2022 that her solo Black Canary movie was still in development.
Could the Black Canary spinoff movie serve as a spiritual sequel to Birds of Prey? Only time will tell, but for now, Birds of Prey 2 seems unlikely.
What is next for Harley Quinn?
Warner Bros. and DC Films have had an erratic box office record in the last eight years since Man of Steel broke into theaters on June 14, 2013. Justice League made just over $650 million in 2017, while 2018's Aquaman brought in over 1.1 billion at the global box office. An MCU parallel would be if 2012's Avengers underperformed, but Guardians of the Galaxy made $1 billion.
Warner Bros. will continue to focus on making entertaining movies that perform well financially. In recent experience, solo films like Joker and Aquaman have been significantly more successful than team-ups films like Justice League. No current plans for a Birds of Prey sequel should come as surprising based on its performance and the wide array of DC projects in the works like The Batman, The Flash, and Ta-Nehisi Coates' Superman.
Robbie is set to make her third appearance as The Mistress of Mayhem in James Gunn's upcoming The Suicide Squad releasing on August 6, 2021. How much more can audiences expect to see her on the big screen after its release?
It remains uncertain as there are no current projects that will likely include the character. There's even a chance the character's story comes to an end in The Suicide Squad as Gunn recently said "almost all" of the Suicide Squad members die in the film.
Is this the end of Harley Quinn? Find out how her story continues in The Suicide Squad streaming on HBO Max and in theaters on August 6, 2021.
