‘Wonder Woman 3’ axed, ‘Black Adam 2’ unlikely as DC shifts direction

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Wonder Woman 3 is reportedly dead in the water, just days after its star Gal Gadot tweeted that she was excited to get back to work on the threequel.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, multiple sources have said that director Patty Jenkins’ treatment for the third instalment has been nixed by new DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran.

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Sources told the trade publication that Jenkins’ script, co-written with Geoff Johns — as it stood — does not fit in with the pair’s new (and unfolding) plans after agreeing to co-lead a new wave of DC storytelling on film and television over the next decade. Gunn and Safran, along with Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, broke the news to the filmmaker.

A source told Deadline that Jenkins was given to take another run at the superhero, but stood by her vision for Wonder Woman 3 and the character arc she envisioned for Diana Prince.

Earlier this week, Gadot shared her enthusiasm for the project on social media.

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“A few years ago it was announced that I was going to play Wonder Woman. I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to play such an incredible, iconic character and more than anything I’m grateful for YOU. The fans. Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you,” the actress tweeted.

It is unclear if Gadot would return for another Wonder Woman without Jenkins at the helm, but the combined box office for the first two films is north of US$992 million, so the new DC brass may not want to move on from her.

The remainder of a slate tied to the Zack Snyder-designed DC franchises that kicked off with 2013’s Man of Steel is still a question mark. THR indicates that a Superman sequel with a returning Henry Cavill may be dropped along with a third Aquaman starring Jason Momoa.

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Cavill’s Superman situation is thornier for Gunn and Safran as the character’s return was heralded after a brief cameo in Black Adam. An appearance in next year’s Flash, which stars the embattled Ezra Miller, has also been filmed. The solo debut of the Scarlet Speedster will also include cameos by Supergirl, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and, count ’em, two Batmans.

After Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson broke out the spreadsheets with Deadline to prove his superhero entry was indeed profitable (despite a report in Variety that claimed the pic was on track to lose millions), THR says a sequel is unlikely whether it ends its theatrical run in the black or not.

Meanwhile, Momoa’s upcoming return as underwater hero Arthur Curry in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (due out next Christmas) would mark the end of that character and effectively close the book on the Snyderverse. But sources tell THR that Momoa could continue on with DC as the intergalactic bounty hunter known as Lobo.

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Gunn, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise filmmaker who also directed The Suicide Squad for DC and created the HBO Max Peacemaker spinoff series, responded to the news on Twitter Thursday saying, “Some of it is true, some of it is half-true, some of it is not true & some of it we haven’t decided yet whether it is true or not.”

He went on to acknowledge that not every DC fan is going to be happy, but that he and Safran are looking to “build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not.”

“We can promise everything we do is done in the service of the STORY & in the service of the DC CHARACTERS we know you cherish and we have cherished our whole lives,” he wrote.

In an interview with Postmedia last month, Gunn said he was drawn to the challenge of taking over DC because of the possibility of telling an interconnected story across film and television.

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“It’s simply telling the big story,” Gunn said. “Getting to tell the biggest story ever told is what excited me about it.”

One aspect of DC’s future film slate that reportedly won’t be touched by Gunn and Safran — at least for now — will be Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, which includes a sequel starring Robert Pattinson and a TV spinoff centring in on Colin Farrell’s Penguin villain.

Next year’s DC films include Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. But a complete DC reboot isn’t set in stone.

“At no point was there any pre-conceived notions of not continuing with these actors,” a studio insider tells Deadline. “It all boils down to how The Flash (out June 16) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 25) do at the box office.”

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