Posted in: HBO, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: Batman, harley quinn, hbo max, preview, season 3, trailer

Harley Quinn EPs: Nixed Season 3 Bruce Wayne Scene Felt "Really Mean"

That's right! Harley (Kaley Cuoco) & Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) are back… and let "The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour" begin! If you've checked the date on your phone or computer screen, then you know today's the day when the first three episodes of Patrick Schumacker & Justin Halpern's third season of HBO Max's Harley Quinn hits our screens. This means it's also time for Schumacker & Halpern to hit the promotional trail to make sure that a fourth season is on the way. Now, if you had a chance to check out the duo's Instagram Live Q&A, you know that they discussed some of the things that will be in play during the season, but since we're not sure how much you know (or want to know), we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down a spoiler buffer image as we take a look at a Bruce Wayne scene that nearly made the cut but didn't. Why? Well, for the sake of spoilers and as a pretty decent tease? Let's just say that the scene left Schumacker & Halpern feeling "all wet."

So during that Instagram Live Q&A to promote the return of Harley Quinn that we mentioned earlier, the duo discussed how James Gunn is directing a biographical film based on the life of Thomas Wayne (Billy Bob Thorton ) entitled A Hard Wayne's Gonna Fall. And that's where we get to what Schumacker & Halpern had to share with The A.V. Club in a recent interview. After a reference to a "pants peeing thing" is brought into the conversation, Halpern shares a scene that was in the original outline set to take place involving Bruce Wayne, the premiere of the film, and that "pants peeing thing."

"This season, there is that Thomas Wayne biopic movie that's happening, and we had a thing in it where at the end of the season, Bruce goes to the premiere of the movie. And you know how [shuttered L.A. movie theater] the Arclight has the glass case with the costumes on display in the lobby for whatever's playing? He's going there, and he sees in the glass case that they have the costume they use for little Bruce," Halpern explains. "And it's got a piss stain on it because, in their version of it, he pissed pants when he watched his parents die, and Bruce is like, 'That didn't happen!' He's annoyed about it." But then Bruce sits down to screen the film and…? "And then he watches the screening, his parents get killed, and he just pisses himself." But as Schumacker & Halpern considered the overall scene, they realized something. "We were like, this feels really mean. We know Batman's not a real person, and Bruce Wayne's not a real person, but there's something about it that felt like it was like punching down, like reveling in someone's pain to an extent that it just doesn't feel right for Batman and Bruce Wayne, so we took it out."

The mayhem and madness continue in season three of this biting and uproarious adult animated comedy series. Wrapping up their "Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour," Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) return to Gotham as the new power couple of DC villainy. Along with their ragtag crew – King Shark (Ron Funches), Clayface (Alan Tudyk), Frank the Plant (JB Smoove) – "Harlivy" strives to become the best version of themselves while also working towards Ivy's long desired plan of transforming Gotham into an Eden paradise.

Now here's a look back at what Schumacker & Halpern had to share during a recent Instagram Live session:

New Characters: Viewers can look forward to a special someone Kite-Man has found" as well as Harvey Guillen's Nightwing and Music Meister

James Gunn will be directing Billy Bob Thorton as Thomas Wayne in the biographical film A Hard Wayne's Gonna Fall, which Clayface is auditioning for. And while they did include some Marvel jokes (including one about Thanos), they didn't make the cut (but maybe as bonus content down the road?)

Episode S03E08 Alert: When asked what was the hardest episode to write, the duo agreed that the Batman-centered S03E08 would be the one. The focus of the episode will take viewers inside Bruce Wayne's mind (for "reasons"), and will "poke fun" at all the different takes on Batman across pop culture. Fans of Batman: The Animated Series "will be blown away" seeing the actual backgrounds from the beloved series being used as well as some of Danny Elfman's music.

Kite-Man Update: Bane (who will also have a storyline with Rachel Dratch's Nora Fries) will be a big part of the spinoff series and, "Your Kite-Man questions will be answered" (with the popular character appearing in the first three episodes).

Most Fun Episodes to Write: S03E08 Batman-focused episodes, and S03E04 Court of Owls/orgy episode

Joker Getting a "Stand-Alone-ish" Episode: The duo tease doing something with Joker that "hasn't been done before" and will include a lot of references to various Jokers across pop culture ("Wait 'Til You Get a Load of Us").

Oh, and if you like songs? Schumacker and Halpern do, too, so expect some more this season.

DC Characters They Would Like to See: Justin goes with Power Girl (referencing she was supposed to appear in Season 1 in an episode where Harley questions her "boob window" and just how impractical female superhero costumes are). Patrick would like to see Red Hood & Black Canary and would like to do a riff on Gotham City Sirens.

Fans looking forward to "spicy 'Harlivy' scenes" should pay attention to the very first scene of the season, with the duo expressing that they approached them from the viewpoint of them being in an "actual relationship."

Guillen's version of Nightwing will be "a very particular version" and have a "very particular tone."

Viewers can also expect to see Amanda Waller and some of the Suicide Squad early in the season, and that there will be more Bat-family members appearing this season ("a lot more Bat-Family") and that they will be playing a major role.

A 'Harlivy' Wedding? Patrick is in favor of Harley and Ivy getting married and having kids, but he believes that storyline-wise it will involve some conversations between the two that need to be had before moving forward. But both say that the pair won't be breaking up on the show.

New ket art & posters for Season 3 are arriving soon, and viewers will love Nightwing's butt.

At SXSW earlier this year, Schumacker announced that development was underway on an animated spinoff entitled Noonan's (working title). While it was still early in its development stage, the proposed series would spotlight Kite Man as he buys Noonan's Bar, an infamous hangout spot for some of the seedier elements in and around Gotham. "He tries to run the bar by himself but it doesn't turn out so easy," Schumacker explained. "We have Harley and Ivy appear in the first episode, but after that, we have with different goons and villains appearing every episode like Lex Luthor and Bane. It will be kind of like 'Cheers' for supervillains." Well, HBO Max liked what they heard because the streamer gave it a 10-episode series order in April, with Matt Oberg reprising his role of Kite Man. Harley Quinn (set to return this summer for its third season) co-creators Schumacker, Halpern & Dean Lorey, as well as original series star Cuoco (via Yes, Norman Productions), will executive produce, along with Sam Register. Lorey will serve as showrunner on the series, based on characters from DC and produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

Along with Cuoco & Bell, HBO Max's Harley Quinn also stars Alan Tudyk (Doom Patrol) as The Joker, Ron Funches (Powerless) as Nanaue / King Shark, JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Frank the Plant, Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) as Sy Borgman, and Wanda Sykes (Black-ish) as Tsaritsa / Queen of Fables. Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) as Lex Luthor, Natalie Morales (Bojack Horseman), Jim Rash (Community) as Edward Nygma / Riddler, Rahul Kohli (iZombie) as Dr. Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow, Diedrich Bader (Veep) as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Tony Hale (Veep) as Dr. Edgar Cizko / Doctor Psycho, Christopher Meloni (Happy!) as Commissioner Jim Gordon, and Sanaa Lathan (Native Son) as Selina Kyle / Catwoman also star. This season, What We Do in the Shadows star Harvey Guillén joins the cast as the voice of Dick Grayson aka Nightwing.

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