James Gunn's podcast "The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon?" weighs DCU status, Harley Quinn

Centre · 1James Gunn confirmed a podcast special titled The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon?, which is meant to settle which details from his 2021 film The Suicide Squad are canon in the current DC Universe (DCU). 1 Centre · 1Screen Rant noted that the film, which Gunn made for the now-defunct DCEU, is referenced across the DCU but has not been fully canonized in it. 1 Centre · 1Gunn hosts alongside Jennifer Holland and Steve Agee, and the special is to include discussion of the film, behind-the-scenes facts and messages from its stars. 1

Centre · 2Screen Rant said the series was launched in honour of DC's Supervillain Month, and Collider described it as a special one-off podcast. 2 3 Centre · 1Deadline reported later the same day that the podcast has been released and that Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, answered fan questions on which characters carry over to his new universe. 4 Centre · 1On Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, Gunn said, "I think Harley is actually one of the more difficult things in this to justify as being canon in the DCU." 4

Centre · 1He explained that the Harley–Joker relationship is very specific and the Joker has not been established in the DCU, where only Batman has appeared, in a cameo on the animated series Creature Commandos. 4 Centre · 1Gunn praised Robbie as "one of my favorite actors to work with" but said, "I don't know if she wants to play Harley again. She may be over that." 4 Centre · 1He said he is "almost certainly" going to use Harley in the DCU: if Robbie wants the role he will "bend over backwards" to explain it in the story's world, but otherwise he might cast someone else. 4

Centre · 1Robbie first played Harley Quinn in 2016's Suicide Squad and again in 2020's Birds of Prey before returning in Gunn's 2021 film. 4 Centre · 1Asked by a fan whether Harley and the Joker are already split in the DCU, Gunn said the Joker is not mentioned by name in the film, so it does not outright say they broke up, and answered "TBD"; he added that her mention of an old boyfriend could be someone other than the Joker, which would change Harley's origin. 2 Centre · 2Gunn also said "Margot is the one who has to decide whether or not Suicide Squad is canon," and Jennifer Holland remarked that Robbie has become an even bigger star since playing Harley for him. 2 4

Centre · 1Collider noted that other characters from the film, including Peacemaker, Amanda Waller, Weasel and John Economos, have already appeared in new DC productions, while Harley has not. 3 Centre · 1Den of Geek said that Rick Flag Sr.'s hatred of Peacemaker, who killed his son in the film, led to the creation of Salvation, the prison planet at the centre of next year's Man of Tomorrow. 5 Centre · 2Den of Geek speculated that Robbie's schedule may be the obstacle, a point the other outlets do not make, and its rendering of Gunn's last quoted clause differs from Deadline's and Collider's ("acknowledge what happened to Harley in this universe" versus "be attached to what happens to Harley in this movie"). 5 4