8 Reasons Why A Joker & Harley Quinn Movie Is A Terrible Idea
6. Suicide Squad Fundamentally Misread Their Relationship
No one should need reminding that Suicide Squad was a bad, baaaaad film, but hey, here we are, doing the deed anyway. Because it's 2017, and someone, somewhere, thought that a Joker/Harley solo feature was a good idea.
Anywho, Suicide Squad (if you didn't know already) took an altogether different approach to the pair's relationship, featuring a Mister J who - acting against type - we are led to believe loves Harley. He goes to great lengths to break her out of Task Force X (and then Belle Reve later), and is genuinely remorseful when she falls out of his getaway chopper. They're totally made out to be this cooky Bonnie & Clyde pairing and it just, doesn't, work.
It sets a worrying precedent for any future onscreen pairing between the two, especially one with Leto in mind. That, and well, it illustrates a tacit unwillingness on WB's behalf to properly engage with the source material they're adapting, or even the wider zeitgeist as a whole. Harley's very much her own character and, tasteless makeup tutorials notwithstanding, the bulk of her fanbase aren't interested in her relationship with Joker.
The character is strong enough to take the lead herself, as has been the case in the comics for years now.