DC Not Moving Ahead With Wonder Woman 3, Notes On Black Adam & More

The planned third Wonder Woman film is dead according to new reports that come as James Gunn & Peter Safran map out their plans for DC Studios moving forward. THR reports that the third film, which would have been written and directed by Patty Jenkins, is not moving ahead and is considered dead in its current incarnation.”

According to Deadline, Jenkins and Geoff Johns recently submitted a treatment for their planned third film, which an insider said had “character arc problems.” That report notes that Jenkins walked away after receiving notes about the treatment and that while Gunn and Safran provided notes alongside Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs and co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the latter two had concerns about the film plans before Safran and Gunn weighed in. Jenkins defended her vision for the arcs and was given an opportunity for another pass at the script, but chose to walk away.

Gunn and Safran’s takeover of DC Studios, which was announced in October, has the two overseeing all aspects of DC’s film, TV and animation. The two are expected to deliver their plans to Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav before the holidays, and hope to inform representatives of the talent of their DC plans soon after.

The report from Deadline also notes that Man of Steel 2 remains “an open slot,” as in it has not been greenlit and does not have a director or writer attached nor, has it ever. Henry Cavill was announced as returning as Superman, as was revealed at the end of Black Adam

The report also notes that it is “radio silent” about the future of a Black Adam sequel. It may surprise some to know that the film stands to make a profit of $50 million or so thanks to the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery invested heavily in digitial marketing, which meant a lower cost to the traditional hefty price tag that goes with promoting a blockbuster. The report notes that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Warner executives are “elated” about the film going into the black, though there’s no word on a new film while Gunn and Safran figure out what’s next.

Finally, the report notes that according to a studio insider, “At no point was there any pre-conceived notions of not continuing with these actors,” aka the stars who have appeared in the DCEU films so far like Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Cavill (Superman), Johnson (Black Adam), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) and such. The insider said it “all boils down to how The Flash (June 16) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 25) do at the box office.”

Gunn himself took to Twitter to address the reports from THR, noting:

“So. As for the story yesterday in the Hollywood Reporter, 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’s true or not.

Although this first month at DC has been fruitful, building the next ten years of story takes time & we’re still just beginning.

Peter & I chose to helm DC Studios knowing we were coming into a fractious environment, both in the stories being told & in the audience itself & there would be an unavoidable transitional period as we moved into telling a cohesive story across film, TV, animation, and gaming.

But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities & the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not.

We know we are not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but 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.

As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters & the stories the time & attention they deserve & we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask & answer.”

Although this first month at DC has been fruitful, building the next ten years of story takes time & we’re still just beginning.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 8, 2022

But, in the end, the drawbacks of that transitional period were dwarfed by the creative possibilities & the opportunity to build upon what has worked in DC so far & to help rectify what has not.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 8, 2022

As for more answers about the future of the DCU, I will sadly have to ask you to wait. We are giving these characters & the stories the time & attention they deserve & we ourselves still have a lot more questions to ask & answer. pic.twitter.com/sxwKGRD3vc

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 8, 2022