After the disastrous performance of Justice League (well, if you're able to accept that $657.7 million worldwide is a failure in 2017), Warner Bros. and DC are looking for a way forward without the help of the connected universe that got them to this point. With their bloated, overly ambitious Avengers imitations proving to be wildly divisive, Geoff Johns and his team have seemingly turned to a slate of fascinating, unique solo films. The Conjuring director James Wan will be taking on Aquaman, rising horror filmmaker David F. Sandberg will be behind the camera for Shazam!, and other famous directorial voices like Matt Reeves, Todd Phillips, and Game Night's John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are reportedly preparing for a variety of projects. But if WB and DC have one surefire hit coming up over the next few years, it's most definitely Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 2. In a universe rife with misfires and miscalculations, the original Wonder Woman was the only unqualified success. The Gal Gadot-led origin story overcame low expectations and some bad pre-release buzz to become one of the biggest films of 2017, grossing an impressive $821 million worldwide. With Jenkins on top of the world, it took a while for Warner to lock down her contract for the hotly-anticipated sequel. But now that it's complete, the buzz around Wonder Woman 2 is sure to grow to a fever pitch.
Yesterday, the first piece of the puzzle seemingly clicked into place, as Deadline exclusively reported that Kristen Wiig is in talks to play the villain in Wonder Woman 2. Wiig will reportedly play the villainous Cheetah, which probably means more to you if you're a comic book fan. The film will be set at the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, a decision that is both totally illogical and completely sensible, in my humble opinion. Variety's Justin Kroll added that Warner Bros. originally had gone after Emma Stone for the part, but when she passed, Wiig became Jenkins' top choice.
So this is a curious choice for Wonder Woman 2, and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. To return to my previous point, I don't understand how the Cold War setting works when you take into consideration what we know about Diana Prince. In Justice League, it seems as if she never got over Steve Trevor, her love interest who tragically met his end at the climax of Wonder Woman. So we're gonna get a whole film of Diana being sad about Steve? I get that the Cold War is a rich and fascinating setting, but do what's best for the character first. And on top of that, Wiig is such a bizarre choice to play the villain. Unless she's all in on playing a dramatic character or Jenkins is aiming for something really hammy, I don't see how this works. Wiig isn't my favorite recent SNL veteran, but she's often very funny in an absurdist kind of way- which doesn't seem like a natural fit for an antagonist.
But if any director in the DC realm deserves our trust right now, it's Patty Jenkins. She defied all the odds with Wonder Woman, and I don't doubt that she'll be able to do it again. More on the sequel as it develops.
Wonder Woman 2 will debut on November 1, 2019.
Box Office figures via Box Office Mojo
Images via Sony and Warner Bros.
Yesterday, the first piece of the puzzle seemingly clicked into place, as Deadline exclusively reported that Kristen Wiig is in talks to play the villain in Wonder Woman 2. Wiig will reportedly play the villainous Cheetah, which probably means more to you if you're a comic book fan. The film will be set at the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, a decision that is both totally illogical and completely sensible, in my humble opinion. Variety's Justin Kroll added that Warner Bros. originally had gone after Emma Stone for the part, but when she passed, Wiig became Jenkins' top choice.
So this is a curious choice for Wonder Woman 2, and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. To return to my previous point, I don't understand how the Cold War setting works when you take into consideration what we know about Diana Prince. In Justice League, it seems as if she never got over Steve Trevor, her love interest who tragically met his end at the climax of Wonder Woman. So we're gonna get a whole film of Diana being sad about Steve? I get that the Cold War is a rich and fascinating setting, but do what's best for the character first. And on top of that, Wiig is such a bizarre choice to play the villain. Unless she's all in on playing a dramatic character or Jenkins is aiming for something really hammy, I don't see how this works. Wiig isn't my favorite recent SNL veteran, but she's often very funny in an absurdist kind of way- which doesn't seem like a natural fit for an antagonist.
But if any director in the DC realm deserves our trust right now, it's Patty Jenkins. She defied all the odds with Wonder Woman, and I don't doubt that she'll be able to do it again. More on the sequel as it develops.
Wonder Woman 2 will debut on November 1, 2019.
Box Office figures via Box Office Mojo
Images via Sony and Warner Bros.
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