James Gunn Destroys Harley Quinn Rumor

Key Takeaways

• Various actresses have played Harley Quinn, but it is unclear who will take over in future DCU movies or shows.
• Director James Gunn refuted rumors about Victoria Pedretti playing Harley Quinn in a new Batverse project.
• Gunn showed grace in debunking the rumors, and emphasized that he does not let negative energy overtake him.

Since James Gunn took over the DCU there have been several different women who have played the the popular character Harley Quinn. However, those actresses whether it was Margot Robbie, or Kaley Cuoco as the animated version of the character or Lady Gaga as the more grounded version of Harley Quinn are actually officially part of the DCU. And for now, there’s still no indication on just who might take that roll over for this era of DC Comics movies and television shows.

There is not even a guarantee that anyone will play the part of Harley Quinn, but considering how beloved she is, especially in this era of comic book movies, it seems extremely unlikely that Gunn doesn’t have some kind of plan to bring her back. When narrowing down the list of people that might eventually get the role, there is one actress that Gunn himself has said is not in the running.

No New Harley Quinn Just Yet

Earlier this month, rumors began circulating around social media that You’s Victoria Pedretti was in talks for the Harley Quinn role. Over on Threads, one fan of Gunn took it upon themselves to ask Gunn himself to answer the rumors. The fan posted a picture of a social media post that claimed Pedrretti was in talks to play Harley in a Batverse project helmed by Matt Reeves. Gunn took no time at all to shoot the rumor down wholly and totallly. “It is not.”

Gunn didn’t go into any great detail about the situation, nor did he need to. There have been other times when the DCU chief has been just vague enough that it was possible he was leaving the door open for something. That was certainly true when he was asked about the existence of Ultraman in Superman: Legacy. In that situation he made it clear that Ultraman was not the “primary” villain in the movie. Now that it appears Ultraman is indeed in the upcoming flick, Gunn can lean back and point to the fact he never specifically said the character wouldn’t be present, merely that he wasn’t the “main” antagonist.

This time around, Gunn didn’t leave anything open to interpretation. In no uncertain terms he shot down the rumors and made it clear the Haunting of Hill House actress was not in talks to take on the role of Harley Quinn. He also did it while showing a little bit of class and grace towards the people who start these kinds of rumors.

Another fan asked the DCU chief whether he “hates” the people who make up the kind of stuff like Victoria Pedretti as Harley Quinn. He responded that he reserves “hate for the truly evil, and even then I try not to let it overtake me. Life is hard enough without stoking internal negative energy. When it comes to leakers I range from amused to irritated.” That’s an impressive response considering it’s far from the first rumor he had to go out of his way to shoot down just in the last seven days.