David Ayer’s Suicide Squad movie looks like a lot of things: a gritty comic book movie, a super villain super-team-up, an action-packed anti-hero story, a showcase for Batman villain / career nut job Harley Quinn, etc. etc. It looks like a lot of things, but what it doesn’t look like is a love story. According to Ayer and Will Smith, there is actually a bit of a love story happening in Suicide Squad — actually, it’s more of a wacky love triangle.

Suicide Squad took over the latest issue of Empire magazine, which featured some vibrant covers and several new photos, as well as interviews with the cast. You’ve already red the nutty things Jared Leto had to say about his version of the Joker, but Ayer and Smith had something fairly interesting to add, too: there’s a love triangle in the film between Smith’s Deadshot, Leto’s Joker and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Says Smith (via CBR):

Harley is the biggest troublemaker, but Deadshot’s actually eyeballing her a little bit. There’s a pretty ragged romantic triangle there.

Harley Quinn first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, and has since transitioned to comic books, where she’s long been the Joker’s sidekick / number one fan, and also obsessively enamored with the clown prince of crime — often to her detriment. As we’ve seen in the promo materials, Harley’s story appears to be true to her origins: Dr. Harleen Quinnzel was treating the Joker in Arkham when she became dangerously obsessed with him and went off the deep end, landing herself in Arkham.

Ayer reiterates what the footage we’ve seen has hinted at, in that Suicide Squad appears to put Harley front and center — it’s also a story about her liberation:

It’s about [Harley] breaking free of The Joker and becoming this fully actualised, independent person. That really is a metaphor for everyone’s journey here.

There’s an interesting way to tell Harley’s story, which could be seen as one of a woman overcoming mental abuse and regaining her independent identity — even if she is still a villain, at least she’s one on her own terms. And I also like the pairing of Harley and Deadshot, especially after Smith and Robbie proved their on-screen chemistry in Focus.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5, 2016.

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