The new DC Films era has claimed its first casualty in Wonder Woman.
According to multiple sources from The Hollywood Reporter, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 3 is not moving forward and is considered “dead” in its current incarnation. Those sources say that Jenkins had recently submitted her plans for the film that had been co-written with Geoff Johns.
The new DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran as well as Warner Bros. Pictures executives let her know that her project as it stood did not fit with the direction of the plans that they are developing. Jenkins had directed and co-wrote the preview two films that starred Gal Gadot.
The first of the two was released in 2017, titled Wonder Woman. This was well recieved by critics and fans alike. It went on to make $822.8 million at the box office. The sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in June of 2020, but the the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic pushed it back to December 15, 2020. It had a dual theater and HBO Max release, to which it was only able to make $169.6 million. It recieved mixed reviews from fans and critics for a variety of reasons.
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What is unclear at the moment is if Gal Gadot is still going to be playing the role of Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman with DC Films going in a different direction. Just yesterday she released a tweet saying the following:
“A few years ago it was announced that I was going to play Wonder Woman.I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to play such an incredible, iconic character and more than anything I’m grateful for YOU.The fans.Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you.”
Whether or not that was with Gadot knowledge that the world knows now is unknown. Also, it could just be that Jenkins needs to redo her film to film the new direction. What the plan is going forward is currently also unknown.
While DC Studios is said not to have any huge financial restrictions, by not going forward with Jenkins and Gadot could save the studios a lot of money. Gadot according to sources was on the way for a $20 million payday for Wonder Woman 3. Jenkins would have recieved $12 million. All that not including backend bonuses.
We’ll have more on the buzz that going around about DC Films in a separate piece.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter