A third Wonder Woman movie was in development at Warner Bros. right up until James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-heads of the relaunched DC Studios, and the decision to scrap the project came as a surprise to a lead actor from the previous films.
While promoting his new movie, Poolman, during an interview with Business Insider, Chris Pine (Steve Trevor) said he was "shocked" that the studio would pull the plug on a franchise that took in almost $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
"I’m stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere. I don’t know what the reasoning was behind that; it’s above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character; Patty is such a thoughtful director.”
Pine wasn't going to reprise his role after being killed off (again) in Wonder Woman 1984. “It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back,” he added.
The Star Trek actor went on to note that he was originally sceptical about playing Trevor.
“I had no interest in playing the boyfriend, and it sounded like second fiddle,” he said. “Then, in talking to Patty, the way she described it was, ‘Forget the superhero of it all, this is a romance, this is ‘Casablanca,’ that’s the movie I want to make.’ I was like, oh, now that is very cool because when have you seen a superhero film that was a love story, ultimately? That had nothing to do with blowing shit up.”
Jenkins was all set to return to helm the third film, and had reportedly completed her script. Things changed when (or before, depending on who you believe) Gunn and Safran came aboard, however, and the threequel was shelved.
According to one report, the initial plan was to move forward with the project under the DCU banner, but it was actually Jenkins who decided to walk away after "receiving notes on the treatment she submitted to the studio." It seems WB higher-ups weren't completely sold on her pitch, which was said to contain "character arc problems which rivalled that of Wonder Woman 1984."
More recently, star Gal Gadot claimed that Wonder Woman 3 was still happening without Jenkins.
"I had a meeting with (DC Studios CEOs) Peter Safran and James Gunn, and they both told me that they're going to develop a third Wonder Woman with me," the Heart of Stone star told USA Today. "They said, 'You're in the best hands, you've got nothing to worry about.' Time will tell."
Gunn didn't weigh in on Gadot's comments, but a trade report would later clarify that Wonder Woman 3 was not currently in the works, and there are no plans in place for Gadot to reprise the role in the DCU.
There are no current plans (as far as we know, at least) for any incarnation of Wonder Woman in the first chapter of the DCU slate, "Gods and Monsters," but a Max TV series titled Paradise Lost is in development that will focus on “a Game of Thrones-type story about Themyscira.”