Female-fronted superhero films don’t seem to be at the top of Warner Bros. Discovery’s priority list. Months after the cancellation of Batgirl, another girl-power flick has been scrapped. Deadline has confirmed that Wonder Woman 3 is no more.
The decision was reportedly made by the DC Universe’s new bosses, James Gunn and Peter Safran, who are busy figuring out how to rework DC’s cohort of superheroes for this new era. Some of these characters and stories simply won’t align with the current vision for the sprawling cinematic franchise. Deadline also suggests that Man of Steel 2 has been culled and that Aquaman 2 will be the last time we see Jason Momoa’s take on the hero, essentially ending Zack Snyder’s approach to the DCU.
Like the first two Wonder Woman films, the third and final installment was set to be helmed by Patty Jenkins. Gal Gadot would have returned as the heroine, but no other plot or casting details had been unveiled. Rumors and fan speculation did bring up the possibility of Kristen Wiig returning as Barbara Minerva, original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter reprising her brief Wonder Woman 1984 mid-credits cameo, and the possibility of seeing the comic-book character of Nubia brought to life on-screen.
It’s unclear whether this announcement was a surprise for Jenkins and Gadot; mere hours before the official cancellation confirmation, the latter posted a hopeful tweet about the “next chapter of Wonder Woman.”
Per Deadline, Gunn and Safran were displeased with Jenkins’ script for Wonder Woman 3, deeming it “unsuitable.” Deadline added that Warner Bros. Discovery staffers have indicated that they’re mostly in the dark about the future of the DCU, but they do know that Gunn and Safran are eyeing live-action television series as the cornerstone of their revamped design, with movies and animated projects interconnecting these live-action shows.
Jenkins has had a strained relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery since 2020, when the studio decided to simultaneously release Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and on streaming. The sequel received a mixed response from audiences and reviewers, but Jenkins argues that it didn’t perform as well as Wonder Woman because it didn’t enjoy a proper theatrical release. She called the experience “heartbreaking” at CinemaCon 2021.
So far, the only pre-Gunn-Safran DCU projects confirmed to have survived the transition are Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, all slated for theatrical release in 2023.
