The following weeks have seen Warner Bros. rocked with the installation of James Gunn and Peter Safran as the co-heads of the newly-formed DC Films division. Among the rampant reports that have come out since the announcement, it appears that none of the current and upcoming franchises, including The Flash, Aquaman, Shazam!, and the recent disappointment Black Adam, will get any sequels beyond what is already completed or in post-production. It also seems as though Henry Cavill’s recent return as Superman in Black Adam will be his last appearance in the role.
At the same time, it was announced that Wonder Woman 3 will not happen. At first, speculation (and some reporting) was that Gunn and Safran has simply scrapped the sequel, following the poor performance and reception to Wonder Woman 1984. But now it seems there was slightly more to the story. It has since surfaced that director Patty Jenkins quit the film due to creative differences. This led to the film being axed entirely.
What Went Wrong With Wonder Woman 3
It appears that under the old regime, Warner Bros. Film Group Co-Chairpersons and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy did not think the “character arcs” in Jenkins’ first treatment, co-written by former WB exec Geoff Johns, worked.
Unfortunately, Gunn and Safran agreed. After the new DC Films heads rejected Jenkin’s pitch, the director opted to walk away from Wonder Woman 3 rather than come up with a different take.
Though not much is known about this script, reportedly Jenkins planned to incorporate the COVID-19 pandemic into the plot. The star of the prior films, Gal Gadot, also stated that she hoped that the new movie would be set in the present. Understandably, she was tired of playing Diana in the past (World War I in the first and, obviously, 1984 in the sequel).
Patty Jenkins was also attached to co-write and produce an HBO Max spinoff series focusing on the Amazons of Themiscyra, possibly centering around the character Nubia. But with Warner Bros. axing so many DC HBO Max projects, and with Jenkins abandoning Wonder Woman 3, it’s a safe bet that this show will never surface.
Patty Jenkins Walks. Is This The End Of The DC Snyderverse?
Sadly, this also would seem to indicate that Gadot’s tenure as Wonder Woman has come to an end. It does not look like WB plans to keep any of the stars of the current films. This includes Cavill’s Superman, Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, and Zachary Levi’s Shazam. Although, there are RUMORS that Momoa may get the chance to play a different character in the future — Lobo.
It was already assumed that WB would let go of the problematic Ezra Miller, who played The Flash, and Ray Fisher, who portrayed Cyborg. Fisher appears to have already been blacklisted after publically speaking out against the studio over misbehavior he reported on the set of Justice League. Another DC actor, Amber Heard, who played Mera in multiple films, was also likely seen as a liability due to her very public legal battles with her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
These DC Projects Are Still Moving Forward
A sequel to Matt Reeves’ The Batman is in the works, but that picture isn’t set in the DCEU. A spinoff HBO Max series, The Penguin, is also due to film in 2023 and will likely also materialize. Already filming is the sequel Joker: Folie à Deux which, like The Batman, is not connected to the DCEU. (Plus, the first Joker made over $1 billion and earned Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. It’s unlikely WB will pull the plug on this.)
There is a second season of The Peacemaker planned. This project is also safe, considering Gunn created the series, and it has been HBO Max’s biggest DC original hit. It’s likely the same is true of the Viola Davis-fronted spinoff program.
Everyone’s got an opinion about what Gunn and Safran should do about the future of DC in film and television. But are you sorry to see Wonder Woman 3 and other potential sequels set in the current DCEU going away?
