(NOTE: This article was previously published, but was lost during the Reel 360 shutdown). Not to be outdone by the new co-chair and co-CEO of DC studios, James Gunn, who released a lengthy twitter statement to address rumors surrounding the DC/WBD talks with Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 director, Patty Jenkins regarding Wonder Woman 3, Jenkins has released her own extra lengthy statement on Twitter to share her side of the story.
The statement reads:
“Sigh… I’m not one to talk about private career matters, but I will not allow inaccuracies to continue. Here are the facts:
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.
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. 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 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. 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.
Walking side by side with Lynda Carter, an absolute legend and beacon of goodness and light, has been a thrill. I have learned so much from her and will cherish her as a friend and mentor, always. My crew has been like family and fought every day to give the world the best films they could. And Gal… Gal Gadot. Where do I even begin? Gal is the greatest gift I have received in this whole journey. A cherished friend, inspiration, and sister. There are no words I can use to convey how magical she is. She is the walking embodiment of Wonder Woman in real life and a better person than the world can imagine. Never once in the millions of moments I have spent with her did I see anything less. She is a gift to this world, and even more so, to me.
Lastly, but most importantly, THANK YOU to the incredible WW fans, and for all of your love and support. Wonder Woman fans are often not the most visible in the media and online, but I want you to know that we have always seen and celebrated you and your importance. You were first and foremost in our minds every day we made the last two films. You are the best and most loving people and I look forward to always celebrating you.
Thank you ALL for this wonderful journey. Keep up the Wonder Woman spirit. Any day that you face struggles, try asking: What would Wonder Woman do? I hope her beacon of love, truth and justice is always there to lead the way for you, as she has done for me.
The Tweet can be seen here in its entirety:
Ironically, while it was much more verbose than Gunn’s it was significantly more ambiguous and didn’t actually set any records straight and reads more like a “farewell” than addressing any rumors other than claiming that it was not her choice to walk away from the talks. When she says, “I do not want what has been a beautiful journey with WW to land on negative note,” it seems that she has accepted that there is a definitive “end” between her and Warner Bros. and that the subject is closed.
James Gunn, who was not physically involved in these talks replied to her tweet:
It’s interesting to note that while Gunn was quick to reply to her post, both Gunn and co-chair and co-CEO of DC studios Peter Safran had absolutely nothing to do with the decision-making, and she allegedly didn’t want to hear their opinions at all in the first place. “She just doesn’t want to allow them to have a seat at the table to have an opinion on something new that she might come up with,” an insider told The Wrap.
In her twitter post, Jenkins did not even mention Gunn or Safran, nor did she confirm or deny that she sent a snarky email with the Wikipedia definition of “Character Arc” to Warner Bros. Film Group Co-Chairperson and CEO Michael De Luca after allegedly “storming out” of the meeting with Deluca and Co-Chairperson and CEO Pamela Abdy.
REELated:
So What Happened?
Gal Gadot was first introduced as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in 2016’s Zack Sneider’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and audiences were thrilled to see Wonder Woman introduced to the DC extended universe. By the time we all got to see Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jenkins had already signed on to direct a Wonder Woman film back in 2015 which made her the first woman to direct a superhero movie. She was originally set to take that title for directing Thor:Dark World a few years prior, but she stepped away from that project.
As it turns out, it was always Jenkins’ dream to direct a Wonder Woman film, and after directing 2003’s Monster, which gave Charlize Theron the role in which she earned an Academy Award for best actress, Jenkins made it known that she wanted to direct a superhero movie and told the Hollywood Reporter in 2016, “I met with Warner Bros. right after I made Monster more than 10 years ago, and I said, “I want to make Wonder Woman.” I’ve always been moved by the idea of movies that are personal but still have a huge reach. Superman had that effect on me when I was a kid — it rocked my world. That kind of movie was always the brass ring of what I wanted to do with my career.”
She fulfilled that dream and Wonder Woman was a hit. Gadot, Robin Wright, and Connie Nielsen were fantastic in their roles and it seemed at the time that Jenkins was on a roll!
Then after problematic posts by Gadot and Joss Whedon butchering Zack Sneider’s Justice League and peppering the film with upskirt crotch shots of Gadot in a seemingly obvious way to “make her look incredibly stupid,” Jenkins and Gadot returned with Wonder Woman 1984, which was, not exactly the best film.
In the meantime, WB was struggling to compete with Marvel and while the TV shows, which stick with the original comic book stories, are fantastic, the movies have been severely lacking.
After Walter Hamada desperately tried to bring the films together into a cohesive story, Warner Brothers Merged with Discovery and David Zaslav, the head of Warner Brothers Discovery decided to search for his own DC version of Marvel’s Kevin Fiege until ultimately announcing That Safran and Gunn would be filling that position together.
The last week, in anticipation of Jenkins meeting with Abdy and De Luca, believing that all would go well, Gadot fired off a tweet where she shared her excitement over the prospect of her returning as Diana/Wonder Woman in a third Wonder Woman movie with Jenkins:
Before long, it was announced that WBD was not planning to move forward with the film as planned in Jenkins’ treatment, co-written with Geoff Johns. Gunn felt that he needed to address the wild rumors floating around on the internet and insiders ran to online publications to claim that Jenkins was the one who broke down the talks and that WBD still wanted to work with her, but only if she came up with a different idea for WW3 and allegedly she was the one refusing to budge and even went as far as sending a snarky email with the wikipedia definition for “character arc.”
Gunn does have some experience from working with Fiege and Marvel, so he should have picked up a few things about how to keep an epic storyline cohesive throughout several films and possibly already has an idea of where that might be going. All of this doesn’t exactly mean that 1984 is the last we will see of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. We will definitely see her in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and it is totally possible that she can still appear in Wonder Woman 3 with another director at the helm.
