David Ayer is making an all-female villain movie, with Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn

By Meredith Woerner

Dec. 13, 2016 6:45 PM PT

Despite her enormous popularity, comic book character Harley Quinn still can’t manage to get her own standalone flick. Warner Bros. has decided that Margot Robbie will reprise her pig-tailed debut as the mallet smashing baddie Quinn in an all-female villain movie titled “Gotham City Sirens.” And David Ayer — the director behind the previous villain mashup “Suicide Squad” — will helm.

The “Gotham City Sirens” comics, penned by Paul Dini (one of the creators of Harley Quinn), focused on a trio of equally beloved Gotham characters: Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Quinn. According to THR, who were first to report the movie news, Ayer will direct and produce the project and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Sherlock Holmes 3”) is writing the screenplay.

No doubt the studio is hoping to replicate the box-office success of Ayer’s “Suicide Squad,” which made over $745 million globally and introduced Harley Quinn to the world at large. Interestingly enough Ayer didn’t foresee Quinn’s success, “We had no idea Harley Quinn was going to explode,” Ayer told The Times in a previous interview. “We had no idea people were going to connect.”

And explode she did. Despite negative reviews, “Suicide Squad” was a global hit, her spinoff comic series at DC Comics (in which Quinn leaves the Joker and joins Roller Derby team) is still quite popular and the Quinn costume was one of the most popular Halloween costumes in 2016.

So why does she have to share the spotlight in “Gotham City Sirens?” Only the future (and the “Suicide Squad” sequel) knows.

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