The Iconic Harley Quinn Weapon We Won't See In The Suicide Squad
Though it's technically the second "Suicide Squad" film, and even features multiple actors reprising their roles from the 2016 David Ayer-directed "Suicide Squad," "The Suicide Squad" is not a sequel. Instead, the upcoming "Suicide Squad" film stands on its own, and simply features actors from the previous entry reappearing as a result of the work they put into their characters previously, rather than as a canonical link between the two releases. Think of it as a comic renumbering in cinematic form.
Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is arguably the centerpiece of "The Suicide Squad." Thus far, Robbie's present-day version of Harley Quinn has served a central role in the previous "Suicide Squad" film as well as "Birds of Prey," so it comes as no surprise that the character is once again positioned to take center stage within what otherwise appears to be an ensemble cast.
Due to the fact that director James Gunn isn't necessarily adhering to the canon of her prior film appearances, Harley Quinn in "The Suicide Squad" will differ from past versions of the character in a few key ways. For example, Harley Quinn will no longer sport a face tattoo that reads "rotten," as she did in "Suicide Squad" and "Birds of Prey," simply because Robbie and Gunn prefer for her not to. Furthermore, it appears that Harley Quinn will no longer wield a baseball bat, her signature weapon in both of her prior film appearances.
Bye bye baseball bat
News of Harley Quinn's change in weaponry comes courtesy of film site JoBlo.com, who sent a representative to visit the set of "The Suicide Squad" back in 2019. A recap of their visit published in July 2021 revealed that Harley Quinn's signature baseball bat will not make an appearance in "The Suicide Squad." The summary of their set visit mentions that they asked Margot Robbie outright whether or not her baseball bat would appear in the upcoming "Suicide Squad" film. Robbie responded, "My baseball bat is next to my bed back in L.A. Anything you want to break soon, I'll be ready. No, I've got other weapons in this one. Many, many weapons, mainly one actually."
Harley Quinn's main weapon, to which Robbie is referring at the end of her statement, is likely either the Spear of Destiny (the spear used in Jesus' crucifixion), which was initially teased in the film's first trailer, or a bazooka with which she's depicted in promotional images for the movie (via @JamesGunn on Twitter). In either case, these are both new, distinct weapons Harley Quinn will wield in "The Suicide Squad" in lieu of her baseball bat.
"The Suicide Squad" will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6.