Wednesday and Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci brought an outsider's perspective to her performance as Harley Quinn.

Ricci spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about Harley Quinn and The Joker: Sound Mind, a seven-episode Spotify series which stars the beloved actor as psychologist Dr. Harleen Quinzel alongside Billy Magnussen as the Joker. “Harley is a real woman in this and an intelligent woman, an educated woman, and I really liked that,” Ricci said. Sound Mind reworks elements of Harley Quinn's descent into crime, giving her more agency and making her less of Joker's pawn. While Ricci says she initially found the role intimidating, she found it easier to humanize this new version of the anti-hero because she wasn't an avid comics reader.

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Sound Mind is the second Batman audio series developed from a partnership between DC and Spotify. The first was the 2022 series Batman Unburied, which starred Winston Duke (M'Baku from Black Panther) as an amnesiac Bruce Wayne. This new series takes place in its own continuity, following Dr. Quinzel as she forms a complicated relationship with the asylum's dangerous "Patient J." Unlike in Batman: The Animated Series or later comics, this version of Quinzel struggles with a terminally ill father amd feelings of disillusionment about Gotham City and the Wayne family. Instead of losing her sanity to the Joker, Quinzel makes her own deal with the Clown Prince of Crime in order to save her dying parent.

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The podcast was developed by Eli Horowitz (Homecoming), who co-wrote the series alongside Rachel Khong and Matthew Derby. According to Peter Girardi, the head of Blue Ribbon Content and Warner Bros. Animation, Ricci was among the first choices for Harley because of her performance as Misty Quigley on the Showtime series Yellowjackets.

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Harley Quinn was originally created by Paul Dini for the 1992 episode of Batman: The Animated Series "Joker's Favor." Dini wanted to create a character that served as a foil to the Joker and her popularity eventually led to her introduction in the DC Comics universe, where she became a staple of The Dark Knight's rogues gallery.

Since then, she's starred in multiple DC Comics series, the animated adult comedy series Harley Quinn on HBO Max, and live action movies including The Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, where she was played by Margot Robbie. Another version of Harley Quinn will appear in the musical Joker 2: Folie à Deux in 2024 with Lady Gaga stepping into the role.

All seven episodes of Harley Quinn and The Joker: Sound Mind are currently available to stream on Spotify.

Source: Hollywood Reporter