Patrick Schumacker reveals that Harley Quinn season 3 pays homage to Batman: The Animated Series with a love-letter episode and original backgrounds. The ’90s show was developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Mitch Brian and served as the start of the shared DC Animated Universe, which would extend to movies, TV series, comic books and video games, often involving the same creatives. Batman: The Animated Series has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike since its premiere for its mature take on the character, stylish art design, Danny Elfman’s theme music and the vocal performances from its cast, namely Kevin Conroy in the titular role and Mark Hamill as The Joker.
Harley Quinn hails from Schumacker, Justin Halpern and Dean Lorey and stars Kaley Cuoco in the titular role as Harley finally breaks up from the Joker and sets out to establish herself as Gotham’s next major criminal and to join the Legion of Doom. Critics and audiences alike have fallen in love with the animated series since its premiere on the now-restructured DC Universe, earning it a season 3 renewal at HBO Max. With the two-year hiatus nearly over for Harley Quinn, those behind the series are teasing what’s to come from the next chapter of the series.
While discussing the series at South by Southwest’s Reimagining of Iconic Characters for an Adult Audience panel (via SlashFilm), Patrick Schumacker offered new details for what’s to come from Harley Quinn season 3. One such reveal was that there will be a love letter episode to the beloved Batman: The Animated Series. Additionally, the co-creator and co-showrunner revealed that the episode will use original backgrounds from the ’90s cartoon.
Long before Cuoco would help her lead her own series, Harley Quinn was originally brought to life by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series with the intention of appearing in one episode as a comic relief for Joker. However, when the producers of the show were impressed with the character and Dini’s desire to bring her back for more, Harley’s role in the series was expanded to be the Joker’s love interest and a tragic character in her own right. Her popularity would skyrocket with her subsequent appearances in Batman: The Animated Series, which would lead to her becoming a recurring character in the DC Animated Universe and making her comic book debut with The Batman Adventures No. 12 and becoming a canonical character in 1999’s Batman: Harley Quinn No. 1.
Schumacker’s reveal that Harley Quinn season 3 will pay homage to Batman: The Animated Series with an episode acting as a love letter to the character’s origins is sure to come as an exciting tease for fans of the character and ’90s show. Additionally, the co-creator’s note that they will be using backgrounds from the original series seemingly points to an interesting shift in art style for the episode and potentially a darker tone more akin to its film noir nature. Only time will tell when Harley Quinn season 3 premieres on HBO Max later this year.
Source: SlashFilm
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