Margot Robbie on 'the most important thing' about returning to Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey

When Margot Robbie stepped back into the shoes of Harley Quinn following her debut in Suicide Squad, the Aussie actress did something a little different.

The 29-year-old is not only starring in Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, she's also the film's producer.

Having that control over what happens next to the much-loved heroine in a way that pays tribute to her comic-book roots was "the most important thing" to Robbie.

"I love the character so much, and I also felt a responsibility over her in a way that as a producer I could kind of play a part in where she was gonna to go next, in terms of what people see on screen," Robbie tells 9Honey Celebrity in London.

"It was important to me to pay tribute to the comics, that's the most important thing, and do right by the fans, and at the same time identify that there was a gap in the market as far as female ensemble action films are concerned."

The action-packed, female-fronted flick brings together Robbie with Rosie Perez, Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who are introduced to fans as the Birds of Prey.

Youngster Ella Jay Basco makes her film debut as teen pickpocket Cassandra Cain, who becomes Harley Quinn's protege for part of the adventure.

The 13-year-old tells 9Honey Celebrity it was a case of life imitating art, with Robbie being her guiding light on-set for her first movie role.

"This wonderful lady definitely helped me through everything," she says, touching Robbie's knee beside her.

"I definitely think the relationship between Cass and Harley showed off-scene and on-scene.

"[Robbie's] so talented and such a great role model."

As a producer, Robbie assembled a number of women both in front and behind the screen, including director Cathy Yan.

"It was great, she was so supportive, just incredibly committed," Yan says of working with Robbie.

"She's very right and left brain, so she's able to do it all and that was really, really helpful and I adore her."

The cast admit they felt the difference on-set too, with so many women involved in the movie.

"When we walked on set, it was just prevalent that 'Oh, this was going to be a different experience'," Jurnee Smollett-Bell tells 9Honey Celebrity. 

"There were women of all kinds, there were people of colour, all different positions of power — you could tell it was a very conscious choice from the producers, from the studio, to make sure this was a very inclusive environment."

Rosie Perez agrees things were so different to anything she had worked on — something she especially noticed after getting injured on Day One of training.

"I got so much support from the other ladies in this, and that's a rarity," Perez tells 9Honey Celebrity.

"You know, normally there's this underhanded competition that occurs on movies and it wasn't the case in this, it wasn't a factor at all. And that helped me a lot."

With a breakup being a strong focus in Birds of Prey, the cast laughed about the craziest things they've done post-split. And it's all very relatable!

"The craziest thing? Probably just got drunk at a bar and went home and listen to Sinead O'Connor's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' over and over," says Chris Messina, who plays Victor Zsasz.

For Robbie, it was something similar.

"Probably getting drunk at a bar is the most crazy I've ever gotten over a breakup," she says before jokingly referencing Harley Quinn's unique breakup behaviour. "Arson has not been involved in my breakup strategy, or impulse purchases or hyenas."

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is out in cinemas across Australia on Thursday.