SUICIDE SQUAD Casts Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn

You've waited a long time for this, comics fans, but Harley Quinn is finally making it to the big screen.

Collider reports that the upcoming DC Comics shared universe film Suicide Squad has cast Margot Robbie in the role of Squad member Harley Quinn. 

The news follows after several casting rumors, including that Jesse Eisenberg will reprise his role of Lex Luthor, Jared Leto circling the role of The Joker, and that Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Jon Bernthal and Cara Delevingne are in talks for unrevealed roles.  The film will be directed by David Ayer.

The 24-year-old Australian actress is best known as Naomi Lapaglia in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street and as Laura Cameron on the short-lived ABC television series Pan Am.  She's also appeared in the British soap opera Neighbours and is slated to appear in the 2016 film adaptation of Tarzan as Jane Porter.

Created in 1992 by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor," voiced by Arleen Sorkin.  Initially intended as a female sidekick for The Joker, Harley quickly became popular with fans and the character was developed further.  In the 1994 DC Comics graphic novel The Batman Adventures: Mad Love, Quinn received her origin story, revealing her as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who fell in love with the Joker and turned to a life of crime in order to be with him.

The character's first comic book appearance was in 1993's The Batman Adventures #12, but Harley's growing popularity encouraged DC Comics to bring her into official Batman canon starting with Batman (vol.1) #570 in 1999.  She soon received her first ongoing series in 2001 that ran for 38 issues and was made a member of the Suicide Squad starting with 2011's Suicide Squad (vol.3) #1.  Harley received her second ongoing series in 2013, which still continues to be a Top Ten book in terms of sales.

Robbie will be the second actress to portray the character significantly in live action, after Mia Sara in the short-lived WB television series Birds of Prey (Sara replaced Twin Peaks' Sherilyn Fenn in the unaired pilot for the series).  Harley appeared in a very brief cameo on the CW series Arrow during the Season 2 episode "Suicide Squad," credited as "Deranged Squad Female" and portrayed physically by Cassidy Alexa and voiced by Tara Strong, who also previous voiced the character for several Batman videogames.

Suicide Squad is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 5, 2016.