DC's Harley Quinn Spin-off Will Be "An R-Rated Girl Gang Film," Says Margot Robbie

Despite the negative critical reaction to 2016's Suicide Squad, most fans and critics agreed that Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was one of the best characters in the DC universe so far. There have been numerous rumors about what movie we'll see the character in next, but last month it was reported that the spin-off focusing on the all-female Birds of Prey team was moving forward. Now Robbie has revealed more details about the project.

In an interview with Collider, Robbie stated that it was important for Harley to stay part of a group. "I pitched the idea of an R-rated girl gang film including Harley, because I was like, 'Harley needs friends,'" she said. "Harley loves interacting with people, so don't ever make her do a standalone film. She's got to be with other people, it should be a girl gang. I wasn't seeing enough girl gangs on screen, especially in the action space. So that was always a big part of it."

The Birds of Prey movie will be directed by Cathy Yan, who will be the second woman to direct a DC film, after Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins, as well as the first female Asian director to tackle a big-budget superhero movie. Robbie herself requested that the director be a woman, and explained how important it was to give "a female director the chance to do big budget stuff."

She continued: "They always get, 'Here's the tiny little film.' I was like, 'I love action. I love action films. I'm a girl. What, are we meant to only like a specific thing?' So it was a hugely important to find a female director for this, if possible. But at the end of the day--male, female--the best director gets the job and Cathy was the best director."

The Birds of Prey film does not yet have a release date, but it is believe that it has moved ahead of Suicide Squad 2 on DC's schedule. Last month, Variety reported that Suicide Squad 2 will no longer start production in 2018 as originally planned, and that the Birds of Prey movie will instead head before cameras in late 2018 or early 2019.

In related news, last week DC announced that there was also an animated Harley Quinn show in the works. It will form part of the studio's new streaming service DC Universe, which launches later this year. As well as the Harley Quinn show, there will also be an animated Young Justice series, plus live-action Titans and Swamp Thing shows.