Despite mostly positive initial reactions, Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman 1984 was widely panned by critics and fans alike when it was released, but the movie does still have its share of loyal supporters - and can count one of its stars among them.
After being killed off at the end of the first movie, Chris Pine's Steve Trevor returned under somewhat bizarre circumstances in the sequel for a reunion with Gal Gadot's Amazonian hero. In the end, Diana was forced to "wish" Trevor back out of existence in order to defeat Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), and the couple shared an emotional farewell.
While chatting about his most iconic roles with Entertainment Weekly, Pine defended WW84, and said he believed the movie was given such a hard time because it focused more on "forgiveness and compassion" than the usual superhero fare.
"I just thought, how powerful that there's a superhero film that has nothing actually to do with destroying New York. Like, we love telling the revenge story, and Patty [Jenkins] was flipping the script on the whole thing and saying, 'Woah, wait a minute, what about, like, forgiveness and compassion?' And people bash the movie, and I think it's because it didn't play the part of what people wanted, which is like 'Kill 'em! Kill 'em!' And I love the film, so there!"
In another recent interview with Business Insider, Pine 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.”
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," said the Heart of Stone star. "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.”
What do you make of Pine's comments? Do you think WW84 is better than its reputation suggests?