Wonder Woman 1984 has divided fans to some extent, but one sticking point for a lot of people who have watched the DC Comics sequel is just how long it is. At over 150 minutes, there are times the story begins to drag, and it doesn't quite justify being as lengthy as some other superhero movies.
Now, we may have an explanation for the film's run-time, because director Patty Jenkins seemingly left almost nothing on the cutting room floor. That means deleted scenes are unlikely to be included on the eventual Blu-ray release, and the filmmaker tells Collider that a "director's cut" would only add 10 minutes at most.
"I didn't cut out very many scenes in this movie. I cut out only parts of scenes," Jenkins reveals. "The only scene I can even think of that we cut out was Steve and Diana hailing a cab outside of The Natural History Museum to get to Black Gold. That's the only actual scene I think we cut out."
It doesn't sound like we're missing much, then, and it's definitely interesting to hear that there's not a whole lot missing from Wonder Woman 1984 Jenkins was hoping to include. In another interview, the filmmaker recently revealed that Warner Bros. tried to get her to cut one of the opening sequences (the competition on Themyscira or Diana Prince rushing in to save the day in that mall).
Do you think Wonder Woman 1984 would have benefited from being shorter?
Click on the "Next" button below to check out some
of the storylines we could see in Wonder Woman 3!
10. A League of One
If Patty Jenkins wants to bring Wonder Woman 3 into the present day in a way that resonates with fans, then it should feature appearances from her fellow heroes (Shazam, Aquaman, and the Flash, for example). This one-shot depicted the Amazon Princess learning of a prophecy that says an ancient dragon will awake, killing her fellow members of the Justice League when they rush into battle to stop it.
As a result, Diana decides that she should be the only member of the team to confront the beast, and then proceeds to take down each and every one of her teammates in the hopes of preventing their deaths. This would be a surprising, but no doubt enjoyable, direction to take things in.
It may ultimately depend on whether cameos like those would distract too much from Diana, but there are definitely ideas here which could play nicely into a big screen adaptation.
9. Eyes Of The Gorgon
At one point in DC history, Themyscira was relocated to an area near the U.S. coastline. Of course, as their ambassador, Diana was forced to deal with the political ramifications of an island full of superpowered Amazons living alongside a country obsessed with their national security.
As if that wasn’t challenging enough for the hero, Wonder Woman’s enemies decide to take advantage of this by teaming together and sending the ancient Medusa after her, and this would serve as a fun way of having Diana Prince's two worlds collide in the present day.
Gorgon, meanwhile, would be a villain who ties into the character's mythological background.
8. Superman/Wonder Woman
Henry Cavill is still expected to make a series of cameo/supporting appearances in the DCEU moving forward (assuming talks with Warner Bros. work out; we still don't know), so he could very easily show up in Wonder Woman 3, giving Diana Prince a new love interest in the process.
In the pages of Justice League, Wonder Woman and Superman realised just how similar they are, leading to the two embarking on a relationship with each other. At the time, DC Comics teased that this would have some serious repercussions moving forward, and Batman was far from happy about the world’s two most powerful superheroes being so closely aligned.
As he warned them at the time, "They’re going to be gunning for you." When Superman asks who he’s referring to, the Caped Crusader simply states: "Whoever’s afraid of what you two could do."
7. Blood
Greek mythology has obviously always had a big role in stories featuring Wonder Woman, but that was taken to a whole new level in "The New 52" when it was revealed that Zeus is her father. This led to Diana clashing with a whole host of mythological characters as she sets off on a mission to protect a newborn baby who is also one of the Olympian Gods’ many children.
Wonder Woman obviously established Diana's ties to this world, but this movie could dive a little deeper into that, borrowing elements from Brian Azzarello's critically acclaimed comic book run.
We're sure Zeus might also have something to say about what happened to Ares in Wonder Woman, while the use of the Dreamstone firmly connected the franchise to Greek mythology yet again.
6. Paradise Lost
"Paradise Lost" was a collection of stories which featured Wonder Woman heading to Gotham City.
However, she didn't clash with the Caped Crusader, as the two instead teamed up to face a common enemy. When Ares - the God of War - and his children join forces with some of the worst villains that Batman’s home city has to offer (including The Joker and Poison Ivy), the two members of the Justice League had to combine forces to face these mystically powered baddies.
Some changes would obviously need to be made for this to work, with Ares switched out for another Greek God. However, a team-up with Michael Keaton's Batman, or even Batgirl, would be awesome.
5. Challenge Of The Gods
Penned by the legendary George Perez (with Len Wien), "Challenge of the Gods" sees Zeus demand that Wonder Woman become his wife. It goes without saying that won't make it into Wonder Woman 3 because he's her father, but he could just as easily request that she fight for Olympus.
Refusing his request (she protects everyone, remember), Diana is then forced to travel deep beneath Themyscira to take on a series of challenges, most of whom are monsters from Greek mythology.
Cyclops, harpies, and even a hydra ultimately come into play, while Diana's relationship with her mother is also fleshed out a little more, and that's a reunion it would be great to see happen on screen.
4. The Circle
Gail Simone joined Wonder Woman at just the right time, and "The Circle" features plenty of great moments this third instalment could borrow from. While a good chunk of it revisits Diana's origin story, it's her now role as an agent of the Department of Metahuman Affairs which really stands out.
Throw in a newfound romance with her DMA partner, Tom Tresser, and this adventure could firmly establish Wonder Woman's new place in the DCEU, while helping her move on from Steve Trevor.
We're not sure whether the genetically enhanced gorillas who plague the Amazon warrior here are the best choice of villain, but Gorilla Grodd would certainly be an unexpected foe for this hero! There was an even hint that could be the case in Wonder Woman 1984, while we certainly wouldn't say no to Cheetah somehow making a return after her fate was handled so ambiguously.
3. The Hiketeia
When Wonder Woman takes part in an ancient ritual called the Hiketeia, she is honour-bound to protect a young woman named Danielle Wellys. Unfortunately, the girl just so happens to be on Batman’s radar in Gotham City as she killed the drug dealers who murdered her sister.
This leads to Diana becoming extremely conflicted as she finds herself forced between choosing to turn her back on justice or be disowned by the entirety of Themyscira. Inevitably, Wonder Woman comes to blows with the Caped Crusader, and as the duo battle on the top of a cliff, Danielle throws herself over the edge in order to release the Amazonian Princess of her duties.
Batman wouldn't necessarily have to be the hero Diana clashes with as there are lot of potential great team-ups, but dropping another hero from this story wouldn't make it any less impactful. For example, how much fun would it be to see Wonder Woman match wits with one Harley Quinn?
2. The Contest
Despite being a very dated 90s comic book, there's a lot in "The Contest" we think would work on the big screen. Stripped of her "Wonder Woman" identity by her mother, Diana has to find out who she really is without that title, and a new "Wonder Woman" - Artemis - ends up taking her place.
Boxer Ann Wolfe made a blink and you'd miss it appearance as Artemis in the first Wonder Woman movie, but we're assuming someone with a little more acting experience would fill this role.
A lot is bound to have changed on Themyscira since Diana left, so it would be interesting discovering their new champion, and someone who wants to take Wonder Woman's place. Of course, when the reason why she was really chosen to replace Diana comes out, this story could take a dark turn.
1. "War-Torn"
Following Azzarello's Wonder Woman run, David and Meredith Finch took over the series and delivered a story which saw Diana attempting to get her fellow Amazons to accept men on Themyscira.
While this was happening, Donna Troy (a character fans would definitely like to see on the big screen) stepped up to challenge Wonder Woman's role as Queen of the Amazons, a position we could see her take on early in Wonder Woman 3. While not sisters in this continuity, they could be in the DCEU.
This has a lot of potential and if Gal Gadot wants to move on from playing this character after the threequel, Donna could become the new Wonder Woman...the question is, who should play her?