Birds Of Prey Director Cathy Yan Explains Why Joker Was Left Out Of The Movie

Before fans see Harley Quinn in James Gunn’s Suicide Squad, they will see her with her girl gang in Birds of Prey. The movie will of course continue Harley’s adventures, but it will have a character who is important in Harley’s life missing from action. That character is of course the Joker. It was known from way before that Jared Leto’s Joker won’t be in the movie. Margot Robbie had explained before hand that she felt like Joker and Harley were done. Now Cathy Yan, director of Birds of Prey has opened up about Jared Leto’s Joker and why he is not in the movie.

But you know who the best joker? This guy below and he deserves a sequel:

Cathy Yan Explains Why Joker Is Not In The Movie

Cathy Yan said that including Jared Leto’s Joker in any capacity beyond a mention would detract from the Birds of Prey.

Yan said to Heroic Hollywood that:

“Well for us, I think the movie starts with the breakup and then it’s all about Harley and we just wanted to work with that and whatever we needed him to be… just to show that he existed and that there was a breakup, but the focus of the movie is definitely not on the Joker.”

READ MORE: Harley Gets A Power Upgrade Thanks To Cocaine In The New Birds Of Prey Trailer

Margot Robbie Wanted A Girl Gang Movie

Margot Robbie had previously explained in an interview with ComicBook.com that:

“It was either going to be a complete Harley and Joker story or Joker has got to be out of the picture. I really wanted to see Harley in a girl gang and I felt there was a huge gap in the market for a girl gang ensemble action film. I felt like no one was doing that and I couldn’t understand why, especially a comic book movie.”

Robbie further said that:

“From the very beginning it was a conscious choice of they have to be broken up at this stage. I have a whole backstory in my head [of] what’s happened between what you saw at the end of Suicide Squad and what you see at the beginning of Birds of Prey.”

For now Harley seems to be happy without Jared Leto’s Joker. In the words of Robbie, the movie is reflective of Harley’s personality which she wants to explore more. We wish that remains the case.

Birds of Prey premieres in theaters on Friday, February 7th.

READ MORE: Margot Robbie Wants Poison Ivy In The DCEU, Is It Possible In The Near Future?

(Source: comicbook.com and variety.com)