One throwaway line in Lanterns just made The Suicide Squad canon in the DCU — which puts Harley back on the board
A passing mention of a giant starfish invasion in Corto Maltese put The Suicide Squad inside the new continuity.
Here we go again — Harley Quinn fans are speculating wildly after a fresh nudge in the latest Lanterns episode, wondering if Margot Robbie might be slipping back into those roller skates for the DC Universe. Official word from DC Studios? Not a peep, but fans have picked up on a pretty blatant breadcrumb in episode 6 which ties straight back to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
An alien invasion, a not-so-subtle wink
The whole internet chorus kicked off after we got a business pitch scene with John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), who, in passing, chats about building panic rooms thanks to memories of previous alien smackdowns on earth. He casually references the usual chaos in Metropolis but then really tips his hand with the phrase ‘giant starfish invasion’ in Corto Maltese. If you’ve seen The Suicide Squad, you know exactly what he’s on about: Starro the Conqueror — the massive alien starfish main villain. Importantly, Robbie’s Harley was front and centre for that caper and had a big hand in taking the thing down.
It’s the first time a new DCU project has so openly acknowledged a major plot point from the old films, which tells us Gunn’s supposed reboot isn’t a total do-over. Some bits of continuity are sticking around — Starro’s attack clearly included.
Lanterns episode 6 makes the Starro attack from The Suicide Squad officially part of the new DCU continuity.
The rumour mill goes into overdrive
What’s got everyone worked up isn’t just the mention, but how fast it took off after a 17-second scene got clipped and pinged around X (née Twitter). Notorious scooper Daniel Richtman fired it out to his followers, adding above the video:
Margot Robbie better be back
That was all it took. The replies filled up instantaneously. One user, @harsh662894151, insisted Robbie is 'literally the perfect Quinn and still has another 10 years in her.' Another, @dc_fan24, is happy to keep Margot so long as Joker gets swapped out. @CrusanLucious promises a 'riot' if she's not back, and @WarcwaIIooom simply wants to know if this means 'Margot Robbie Harley Quinn is canon???????'
So what’s actually changed?
The reference in Lanterns sparked another round of debate about whether Robbie’s Harley belongs in the new DCU line-up at all. Since her last outing, there’s been zero clarity from Gunn about whether she’s got any future in these movies, especially with Lady Gaga doing her own version of the character in Joker: Folie à Deux.
Gunn has tactically dodged direct questions about Harley’s fate so far, but he’s always credited Robbie’s take on the role — just never confirming we’ll see her back. And Robbie herself? She’s said previously she’d love another go, but her answer was equally vague; she hadn’t had any formal call from Gunn or co-boss Peter Safran at DC Studios.
At the end of the day, the Lanterns mention doesn’t promise a return, or even hint at Harley popping up soon. All it actually does is pin The Suicide Squad events, and by extension Harley’s madcap heroics, squarely in the new DCU timeline.