Batman & Robin’s Unmade Sequel Almost Introduced 1st DC Villain 17 Years Before Their First Live-Action Movie Appearance

The unmade sequel to Batman and Robin Almost introduced Harley Quinn to the world of DC live action movies years before she actually debuted in that capacity. Batman and Robin has a complicated place in the annals of Batman movie history, being one of the most easily recognizable – and most consistently disliked – releases in the Dark Knight’s entire film catalog. However, this only serves to make the installment’s real-life story and its effect on DC’s movie landscape all the more interesting.

This is especially true when it comes to the matter of the movie that was initially intended to come after Batman and Robin in the Batman movie lineup, as it was not originally intended to be the last release of the series. In fact, the unmade fifth film was seemingly set to be a great tying together of the film list, bringing back some surprising villains, and introducing new ones all the while. Plans for the story even brought Harley Quinn into the fray to be against a live-action Batman, which could have resulted in some key changes for the character and for DC by and large.

Batman Unchained could have been Harley Quinn’s live action movie debut years before it happened

Harley Quinn’s movie history was almost very different

While Harley Quinn first came to the small screen in 1992 with her first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series – and made a comic debut not long after that – it was a much longer wait before arriving on the big screen. Suicide Squad Brought the first live-action film version of Queen to life, however The character almost appeared in a cinematic release long before with Batman UnchainedWhich was projected for a 1999 release – notably just a few years after audiences first met DC’s other main clown.

Mark Protosevich’s script for the Batman Unchained The film reportedly has the DC hero facing off against both Scarecrow and Harley Quinn in the events of the movie, allowing the series to explore new territory while still giving it useful ties back to the Joker and the series’ history for when and if they could Be helpful. However, the movie never came to fruition, resulting in a long stint in which Harley Quinn remained only in comics, television and animated movies until 17 years later with the 2016. Suicide Squad.

As the current defining live-action movie version of Harley Quinn, Margot Robbie has delivered a solid series of performances as the character between Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey (and the Fantastic Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)And The Suicide Squad. However, it is notable that – until Joker: Foile Á Deux Introducing Lady Gaga’s iteration of Queen to the world in 2024 – she was also the only live-action film version of Harley Quinn to grace screens. As such, the mysteries about why Batman Unchaineds Quinn would have brought to the stage are especially pertinent.

Introducing Harley Quinn into the earlier Batman movie series would have fascinating results

Batman Unchained has a unique iteration of the DC character

Harley Quinn’s evolution in the universe and in the real world was an interesting process. First introduced as the adoring and blindsided by love sidekick to the Joker – a role played for comic effect – in Batman: The Animated SeriesStories quickly began to explore the trials and tribulations of being romantically entangled with a ruthless supervillain, with the toxic nature of the pair’s relationship a core part of Harley’s story, eventually culminating in the duo splitting up in order to give Quinn her own storylines.

interesting, Batman Unchained would have reportedly made Harley Quinn the Joker’s daughterDrastically changing the dynamic she would have had with the then-deceased Joker and making her place in the movie landscape all the more interesting. Combine this with the prospective casting of Courtney Love as Harley Quinn and the Joker who are slated to return in the movie—albeit as a figment of Batman’s imagination brought back by the events of the film—and it’s clear that Quinn’s story would It was like no other version told yet, making the missed opportunity all the more noteworthy.

It is also worth noting that Quinn’s debut is in Suicide Squad was a mixed result, because while Robbie’s performance received praise, the film itself is not so good. As such, look like Batman Unchained Could have altered the character’s live-action debut is also interesting in this sense, although the movie never come to fruition, leaving this mostly up to the imagination.

Why Batman Unchained didn’t end up being made

Batman Unchained was in a difficult position for more than one reason

finally, Batman Unchaineds place like Batman and RobinThe sequel was seemingly what led to his downfall. While the work has begun Unchaineds script before Batman and Robins release, the reception to the film – which remains consistently negative to this day, based on its 12% critic score and 16% audience score on Rotten tomatoes – Meant it’s hard to imagine that a follow-up release will pay off. This was matched by lower box office results compared to every other Batman movie release in the series before it – despite some promising opening weekend results for Batman and Robin – Reinforcing its failures.

This said, Batman Unchained Can’t be made even if Batman and Robin was a more critically and commercially successful movie, because the big swings the story took might have been too much for the executives to justify – although Batman and Robin himself No doubt didn’t help. In a report of The Hollywood ReporterWriter Mark Protosevich details giving the script’s first draft to director Joel Schumacher and a Warner Bros. executive, stating Schumacher described it as, “The most expensive movie ever made.According to Protosevich, what followed was radio silence from the studio, followed by the termination of the project.

However, the details of Batman Unchained And what might have been for his story will always make it a fascinating chapter of DC history, even if it’s one that never saw the light of day as a successor to Batman and Robin. With a new version of Harley Quinn likely to emerge from the DC Universe and his upcoming slate of releases, it will be interesting to see how the future of DC’s movie releases reflects his past, and whether any fragments of that UnchainedHarley Quinn’s Harley Quinn may be glimpsed in new iterations of the character.

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