‘Wonder Woman’ director Patty Jenkins at Comic Con International in San Diego, California.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the big changes underway at Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Comics arm––which, under new bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran is now called DC Studios––is going through yet another creative overhaul.
And part of that was a report last week that a third ‘Wonder Woman’ movie from co-writer/director Patty Jenkins is not going to go forward, with the filmmaker walking away after her most recent treatment (co-written with Geoff Johns) was rejected by Warners film bosses.
Now, Jenkins, who has so far made 2017’s ‘Wonder Woman’ (which was a big success) and 2020’s ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, (which suffered from less positive reviews and same-day streaming/pandemic box office problems), is setting the record straight on twitter.
“When there started being backlash about ‘WW3’ not happening, the attractive clickbait false story that it was me that killed it or walked away started to spread. I never walked away,” Jenkins wrote. “I was open to considering anything asked of me. It was my understanding there was nothing I could do to move anything forward at this time. DC is obviously buried in changes they are having to make, so I understand these decisions are difficult right now. I do not want what has been a beautiful journey with WW to land on [a] negative note. I have loved and been so honored to be the person who got to make these last two ‘Wonder Woman’ films. She is an incredible character.”
Jenkins goes on to praise “legend” Lynda Carter, who became famous for portraying the character on TV and had a role set up in ‘1984’ that pointed to more participation down the road that is now unlikely, and Gal Gadot, who has played the title character across several films.
It all certainly appears to put an end to speculation that Jenkins might be back to continue her work (though never say never).
Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in ‘Wonder Woman 1984.’
Still, she does also offer hope to those who were disappointed that her planned ‘Star Wars’ movie entry, ‘Rogue Squadron’ had been long delayed because of the director’s focus on ‘Wonder Woman’.
“I originally left ‘Rogue Squadron’ after a long and productive development process when it became clear it couldn’t happen soon enough and I did not want to delay ‘WW3’ any further. When I did, Lucasfilm asked me to consider coming back to ‘RS’ after ‘WW3’, which I was honored to do, so I agreed. They made a new deal with me. In fact, I am still on it and that project has been in active development ever since. I don’t know if it will happen or not. We never do until the development process is complete, but I look forward to its potential ahead.”
What this means for Gal Gadot in the title role of the potential ‘Wonder Woman’ franchise going forward is anyone’s guess. We’ll have to wait and see what James Gunn and Peter Safran have in mind.
You can read Jenkins full statement here: