BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER Harley Quinn Actress Talks About Crafting This New Version of The Character
Bruce Timm’s Batman: Caped Crusader is a bold new vision for the Dark Knight, and it’s doing things that are very different from anything we’ve seen before.
One of the biggest changes to traditional Batman lore is the Caped Crusader's version of Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. This version of the character, played by Jamie Chung, is a prominent therapist in Gotham City, whose primary clientele are rich and powerful people… including Bruce Wayne.
It’s really interesting as Dr. Quinzel is moonlighting as Harley Quinn, and she is using her career as a therapist for nefarious purposes. I won’t spoil that for you if you haven’t watched the series yet.
During an interview with GamesRadar+, Chung talked about crafting this new version of the character and says it was a thrill to "flip the switch" being given the opportunity to craft a Harley without Joker.
She explained: "I love the fact that it's a feminist role you could say... her pure existence doesn't evolve around a man. I think they really flipped the switch with that but I also love the origin story of her becoming a psychiatrist, learning the ins and outs.
“You get to understand why she does the work - she wants to use and take all that information to manipulate her clients. She's the Robin Hood of Gotham, she takes from the rich and gives to herself, she doesn't need a sugar daddy, she's just mind f–king all these people. She's my hero!"
When asked about the future of the series and her character, Chung said: "I can tell you what happens. They meet on Raya, she swipes right, they go on this date... I'm joking!
“No, I don't know if the characters ever meet in this series nor do I know what happens in season 2, but I don't think they have anything to do with each other without giving anything away. But I f–king hope so.
“They asked me to do one episode for season 2 so far so I'm really hoping that the two collide then she dumps him and he goes on this downward spiral."
The description for the series reads: “Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear.
“Forged in the fire of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something both more and less than human—the BATMAN. His one-man crusade for justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.”
Timm previously explained that this series is set in the very early crime-fighting career of Batman: “Batman is so early in his career that in the first episode, he’s still an urban myth.”
He went on to say: “It’s not Year One,” referring to the Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli Batman origin comic. “It’s more like ‘Week Two’.”
Timm added: “I wanted to make him kind of weird, and spooky. If you’re stuck in a room with Batman, whether you’re Commissioner Gordon or Barbara Gordon or Renee Montoya, you don’t feel comfortable. You’re kind of like, ‘What is this guy? What’s this all about?’”
The cast includes Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) as Batman, Christina Ricci as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, and former Batman voice actor Diedrich Bader is set to play Harvey Dent / Two-Face.
Other cast members include Minnie Driver, Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, McKenna Grace, Jason Watkins, Paul Scheer, Reid Scott, Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel Osment, and Toby Stephens.
This animated series has been in development for some time with Timm, J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and comic writer Ed Brubaker leading the charge.
Batman: Caped Crusader is currently available to watch on Prime Video.