Margot Robbie wants diverse leads for Harley Quinn spin-off

'Real life isn't one specific image. We've got to reflect that onscreen'

Margot Robbie wants to make sure the upcoming Harley Quinn spin-off, Birds of Prey, is reflective of the world we live in.

Speaking to Yahoo Movies, Robbie confirmed her intentions to make sure the team-up film, based on DC Comics' all-female gang, featured diverse leads.

“Real life isn’t so one specific image,” she said. “We’ve got to reflect that onscreen.”

The project is based on DC’s Birds of Prey comics, which teams Quinn with the likes of Black Canary and Barbara Gordon. That said, there’s no word yet on which characters will actually appear; in the comics, Barbara Gordon works under the codename Oracle, but the film may have her appear as Batgirl to tie in with the character’s own solo film currently being developed.

The film has already made history by tapping Cathy Yan to direct; she won the job over a number of well-established male directors, having only just completed her directorial debut Dead Pigs, screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. However, her presentation reportedly made a huge splash with executives.

It proves an exceptional instance in which a woman of colour (Yan is Chinese-American) has been offered the same level of opportunity, the same level of faith and trust, that white men are already so used to receiving in Hollywood – with the likes of Colin Trevorrow and Josh Trank being hired for major tentpoles following their feature debuts.

Yan also had Margot Robbie firmly in her corner: the star, who will produce through her LuckyChap Entertainment banner, stood fast in her desire to get a woman in the director’s chair for the project.

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