With Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is set to hit theaters this weekend, DC Comics fans around are about to get a whole new look at one of their favorite antiheroes. Unlike her previous appearance in Suicide Squad, this version of Harley (still played by Margot Robbie) is a little more introspective and a little less in love with the Joker.

Producers Bryan Unkeless and Sue Kroll sat down with Screen Rant to discuss how the creative team hit upon this new modus operandi for Harleen Frances Quinzel, and how the film became its own entity while operating within the DC universe.

Guys, congratulations on the film. Oh my God, when you guys came out and said “badass,” it lived up to that every step of the way. Margot has been Harley Quinn obviously before. What is it that she wanted to bring from her experience from Suicide Squad to this film and what did she maybe stay away from?

Speaking of the director, Cathy, she’s the perfect director for this film. What was it that sold you guys on her vision of this movie?

Sue Kroll: I think the wonderful thing about our movie is you get to spend so much more time with Harley. So, looking at the world of Gotham and her life through the perspective, her crazy mind - we got to explore that in, I think, a really unique way. So, you get to see all aspects of her.

I think people are used to crazy, violent psycho Harley, but what they get here is: she’s funny, she’s a little bit tender. I love that we see her also being emotional and melancholy, and trying to figure out with the loss of her relationship, who she is and all that self discovery. And I think when I look at Harley Quinn in our film, she’s a lovable mess to me. She’s a little bit scary, a little bit maniacal. But I think just a lovable character with a lot of depth, and I was using the word humanity. I think it’s a great word to describe our Harley Quinn.

So, we just had this unrestrained movie to explore all aspects of her. There’s probably a ton more to explore.

Bryan Unkeless: And she still kicks ass. That’s what’s also nice, is that you can spend time getting to know her. And then it’s all the more impactful when you have those final set pieces, and she’s punching people in the face and she’s catching people on roller skates and doing flips, and still as badass as ever. But you get to know her a little better.

The movie is beautiful.

Sue Kroll: She came in and she did a really wonderful presentation, but she literally had explored every aspect of what this film could be, philosophically. So, the color palette, the tone, the music, the characterization, references from other movies. I mean, it just - regardless of the fact if it ended up that way, the thought process and the creativity and the vision and the leadership… We were all blown away by that. And we could see what the movie could be. We see the possibilities of what that was.

It’s gorgeous. And the thing is, too, it’s so uniquely different than all the other DC movies but fits right in the heart of it. Can you talk to me about how difficult it might have been to balance both? Since this is an existing universe. 

Sue Kroll: It’s gorgeous.

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Bryan Unkeless: Yeah, it’s interesting. Of course, you’re working within the DC sandbox, and you want to be really respectful to the characters and to the fan base and try to get as much character detail in as possible. But at some point, you just have to focus on the story at hand and let that lead you. It’s an inside-out way of doing it.

And it all started with, really, Christina Hodson and Margot kind of sitting together and loving these comics and these characters, and just building something. That’s the blueprint, and you use that rather than a lot of the outside noise to guide you.

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