Arrow laid the foundation for a sprawling interconnected universe of DC characters, with many iconic heroes and villains from the comics making the jump to the small screen. While the series featured several members of the Suicide Squad, one crucial character from the group remained absent despite Arrow‘s eight-season tenure.
Initially, an appearance from Harley Quinn was teased in the show’s early season, but a full appearance never materialized. In an interview, actress Willa Holland, who played the titular character’s sister in Arrow, revealed that there were plans for Harley Quinn to appear, which never came to fruition. However, the character later found ground-breaking success in the DCEU.
Willa Holland Reveals Arrow Was Blocked From Using Harley Quinn
In its early seasons, Arrow established Task Force X, an early iteration of the Suicide Squad. While several popular members of the team from the comics appeared in the series, Harley Quinn only made a brief cameo appearance in a voice capacity and in a deleted scene.
During an appearance at the MCM London event in 2015, actress Willa Holland, who plays Thea Queen in the series, admitted that there were plans for Harley Quinn to appear in the series.
We had big plans for Harley. But, I guess something came down from DC execs that told us to shut it down.
Holland made the above statement (via Digital Spy) explaining why a full appearance from Harley never happened in the series. She also implied that plans to introduce the DC villain were scrapped, likely in favor of the then-upcoming Suicide Squad film, which featured the character in a main role.
While Holland expressed excitement over the idea of Harley appearing on Arrow, she reiterated that it would never happen. Nonetheless, the character was later referenced in the spin-off series Batwoman, where Harley Quinn is mentioned several times as an ally of Kiki Roulette.
DC Movies Starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn Went on to Gross Over $1 Billion
Plans for Harley Quinn’s appearance on Arrow were likely scrapped in favor of her big-screen debut in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. Directed by David Ayer, the film marked the first appearance of actress Margot Robbie in the role of Harley Quinn. Despite mixed reviews of the movie, Robbie’s performance was received positively.
Suicide Squad emerged as a commercial success, grossing $749.2 million at the global box office. Robbie later reprised her role in the spin-off film Birds of Prey, which was released in 2020. It received generally positive reviews from critics but wasn’t as successful as the earlier film as it only grossed $205.3 million worldwide.
Robbie’s third and final appearance to date as Harley Quinn came in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews but grossed only $168.7 million amidst a pandemic-hit box office period. As a result, all three films starring Robbie as Harley grossed a combined total of over $1 billion, proving that reserving the character for the big screen was the right call.
Arrow and the other DC films can be streamed on Max.
