Gal Gadot will not returning as Wonder Woman in a third movie. Photo / Warner Bros
Filmmaker Patty Jenkins has responded to rumours swirling around the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3.
Jenkins posted a lengthy statement on social media to clarify that she didn’t “walk away” from what would have been a third instalment in the franchise.
Last week, it was reported that a sequel to Jenkins’ first two superhero movies starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince had been shelved. It was initially reported that the film became grist to the mill of DC Studios’ reboot under new bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Jenkins was reported to have submitted a proposal for a third film and it was decided that her plans did not fit in with DC Studios’ new direction, which is still being ironed out.
But in the absence of official statements, speculation ran rampant that Jenkins had refused to curtail to DC Studios’ future plans for its superhero universe.
Jenkins started her statement by saying that while she wasn’t one to usually expound on private career matters, she couldn’t allow inaccuracies to continue.
“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. This is simply not true,” she wrote.
“I never walked away. 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 honoured to be the person who got to make these last two Wonder Woman films.
“She is an incredible character. Living in and around her values makes one a better person every day. I wish her and her legacy an amazing future ahead, with or without me.”
Jenkins went on to pay tribute to Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series and who had a cameo in Wonder Woman 1984, hinting at an expanded role in any future films.
The filmmaker also praised Gadot, the crew and the fan community.
Jenkins’ statement was backed up by Gunn, who retweeted it and added, “I can attest that all of Peter and my interactions with you were only pleasant and professional”.
It has been a chaotic start to Gunn and Safran’s tenure as joint heads at DC Studios. Any significant creative change at the top is expected to go through growing pains.
After news broke that Wonder Woman 3 had been canned, The Hollywood Reporter published an article quoting insiders which said myriad changes were on the table, including speculation that Henry Cavill’s Superman sequel would not go ahead.
A Cavill-led Superman sequel would be swept out along with other “Snyderverse”-era DC Studios iterations of the characters, including Jason Momoa’s Aquaman.
Following that story, Gunn responded on Twitter. He wrote, “So. As for the story yesterday in the Hollywood Reporter, some of it is true, some of it is half-true, some of it is not true and some of it we haven’t decided yet whether it’s true or not.
“Although this first month at DC has been fruitful, building the next 10 years of story takes time and we’re still just beginning.
“Peter and I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told and in the audience itself and there would an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation and gaming.
“But in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities and the opportunities to build upon what has worked in DC so far and to help rectify what has not.
“We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise everything we do is done in the service of the story and in the service of the DC characters we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives.”
Gunn and Safran were appointed in October to oversee the DC Studios output, replacing Walter Hamada, the then-latest executive in a string of studio bosses with responsibility for Warner Bros’ superhero franchise.
It’s hoped Gunn and Safran will bring a more cohesive vision to iconic characters including Superman, Batman and more, in a similar vein to what Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has managed to do with the MCU.
Gunn is best known for his Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel but has also made Suicide Squad for DC, as well as TV spin-off Peacemaker.
Responding to fan questions this week, Gunn said Superman would be a “huge priority, if not the biggest priority” for him. He also said it was false the claim that he does not like Cavill.
Cavill first portrayed Superman/Clark Kent in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, reprising the character in Batman vs Superman and then Justice League. He last appeared as the character in 2017 before a mid-credits cameo in last month’s Black Adam.
Cavill posted to social media that he was “officially” back as Superman. But nothing is a certainty in the superhero movies business and whether Gunn and Safran keeps him on is still, ironically, up in the air.