Margot Robbie to lead a 'Suicide Squad' spinoff with DC's female villains

You can't keep a good villain down.

Critics may not have been impressed with David Ayer's Suicide Squad (Mashable called it "the most disappointing movie of the summer"), but love it or hate it, the film still pulled in a hefty $745 million gross worldwide -- and also inspired the most popular Halloween costume of the year: Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.

So it should come as no surprise that Warner Bros. has turned to Ayer to helm another film featuring Robbie's breakout character.

Mashable has confirmed that Ayer and Robbie are reteaming for Gotham City Sirens, a project centered around some of the DC Universe's most iconic female villains. The name comes from a 2009 comic book created by Paul Dini and Guillem March, which focused on frequent Batman foils Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news, the project is being written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet (who penned the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot and WB's Sherlock Holmes 3 script), and Robbie is also on board to produce.

DC's president and chief creative officer, Geoff Johns, and Warner Bros. executive VP Jon Berg will be involved in the production through the studio's DC Films division.

No release date has been set for Sirens, but THR reports that the film is now being fast-tracked ahead of a planned Suicide Squad sequel and a potential spinoff centered around Will Smith's character, Deadshot. The next DC film slated for release is Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, which hits theaters on June 2, and Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman followup Justice League, which is slated for Nov. 17.

Ayer is currently filming Bright, which also stars Smith and Joel Edgerton, for worldwide release on Netflix.

Warner Bros. declined to comment on the news.