‘Arrow’ Had Big Plans for Harley Quinn Before ‘Suicide Squad’ Film
Willa Holland – who plays Thea Queen on ‘Arrow’ – says that the show originally had big plans for villain/antihero Harley Quinn.
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Arrow, having just finished with its third season, is preparing to jump-start the show in season 4 with a lighter tone, a new villain, a new suit, and a possible name change for the hero – from Arrow to Green Arrow. We also know that the Suicide Squad that was introduced in season 2 likely won’t play a big role going forward (blame the Suicide Squad movie), even though H.I.V.E. probably will.
Speaking of things that won’t be appearing on Arrow: Willa Holland – who plays Thea Queen on the show – was at the MCM London Comic Convention earlier today, where she revealed that the showrunners had big plans for Harley Quinn to appear before they were (ultimately) nixed by the higher-ups at Warner Bros./DC Entertainment.
Here’s what Holland said, courtesy of Flickering Myth:
“We had big plans for Harley. But, I guess something came down from DC execs that told us to shut it down. I mean we had that tease with the pigtails and the ARGUS outfit, but we’ll never see it. We would love to Harley in ‘Arrow’ but it will never happen.”
Fans of Arrow will recall that Harley Quinn had a very brief cameo during the show’s second season during the Suicide Squad episode, wherein she appeared off-screen and made a joke about counseling John Diggle and his future wife, Lyla Michaels. There was even a deleted scene in which she actually appeared, although only from behind.
Whatever role she would’ve played on Arrow likely would’ve been as part of the Suicide Squad or at least connected to A.R.G.U.S.
Obviously, the decision to make Harley a major player in the DC Cinematic Universe – she’s being played by Margot Robbie in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad movie – is what ultimately nixed the “big plans” that producer Marc Guggenheim had for her on the show. It’s pretty much guaranteed that Harley will be key to the movie’s plot, in addition to Will Smith’s Deadshot and Jared Leto’s “Damaged” Joker.
Oh well, it’s probably for the best that Harley never appeared on Arrow. In all likelihood, the “big plans” for her would’ve taken place during season 3, and it’s pretty much universally agreed upon that season 3 was a huge step down for the series in quality.
What say you, Screen Ranters? Are you bummed that Harley Quinn never really featured into the story on Arrow? Drop us a line in the comments.
Arrow season 3 will premiere Fall 2015 on The CW.
Source: Flickering Myth
Benjamin Andrew Moore has written about movies, TV shows, and comic books for the past five years of his life. His education consists of a bachelor’s degree in Cinema & Comparative Literature from The University of Iowa and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Besides working for Screen Rant as an editor, he’s also worked for Marvel Comics, Godiva Chocolatier, and The Chicago Sun-Times. Occasionally, you can hear him talking about all forms of popular culture on the PopTopPodcast.
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