James Gunn's Superman is now in theaters, and has been performing reasonably well at the box office. Well enough to serve as a launching pad for an entire franchise?
In Variety's report on the first DCU movie's theatrical debut, its budget and the salaries paid to the cast and director (Gunn reportedly pocketed $15M), the trade notes that "the refrain heard on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and around Hollywood was 'Good enough,' accompanied by a sigh of relief as Gunn’s movie lifted off to $220 million worldwide, ushering in a 10-year vision for DC."
Though one box office analyst views Superman's opening weekend haul as a "slightly underwhelming start for DC and WB,” the studio clearly intends to forge ahead with plans for its "Gods and Monsters" slate (and beyond), although it sounds like a direct sequel to Superman (whatever form that's likely to take) might be taking a backseat for the time being.
"Although Warner Bros. has sequel options on Corenswet and Brosnahan, a sequel announcement does not appear to be imminent. Instead, sources say the studio is fast-tracking a Wonder Woman movie. And the studio is thrilled with Matt Reeves’ just-submitted screenplay draft for the sequel to The Batman."
We first heard that a new Wonder Woman film was being worked on last month, and even though the name of the writer has not been disclosed, it certainly sounds like Gunn, Peter Safran and co. are happy with how the script is progressing.
If the project is now being fast-tracked, there's a chance we might get some official updates fairly soon, and may even learn who is being eyed to play our next big-screen take on the iconic Amazonian warrior. At this point, it seems pretty clear that Gal Gadot will not be reprising the role!
Before it was announced that the DCEU was being rebooted, a third Wonder Woman movie was in the early stages of development with Patty Jenkins set to direct. However, things changed when (or before, depending on who you believe) Gunn and Safran took over as co-CEOs of DC Studios, 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."
Several actresses have emerged as fan-favorite picks to take over from Gadot, including Scream and Abigail star Melissa Barrera, who responded to the fan-casts during an interview with A Shot Magazine earlier this year.
“I think it’s nice because of what the character represents. I think whoever gets the role, I just hope that they can embody the essence of the character because I think that those movies, whether they're Marvel or DC, their reach is so big. And because those artists that get those roles will inevitably get a built-in fanbase and have the eyes and the ears of so many people, I think that it would be nice if they did something actually positive with the influence that they have to at least be a good example of the kind of human being that you wanna be in the world, instead of just using it for self-serving purposes."
Who would you like to see step into the role of Wonder Woman in the DCU? Let us know in the comments