Patty Jenkins Already Has Plans for a Third Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman 1984 doesn’t come out until June 2020, but that shouldn’t stop us all from speculating wildly on plot points, characters, and what the character’s DC future will be.

With the DCEU in a seemingly constant state of flux, Wonder Woman and Aquaman seem to be the only constants given how well their films performed critically and commercially. Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, and Chris Pine will all return for the sequel, but there is already some discussion of what will happen after that.

Jenkins, though, already has a few ideas. “I have pretty clear plans for Wonder Woman 3,” Jenkins said to Vanity Fair. “Whether I [direct] it or not, I see how her arc should end in my incarnation of Wonder Woman. I have great passion for that.” Given how well-received Jenkins’s take on the character is, it would be surprising if she did not return for Wonder Woman 3 unless she falls out of love with the project, which does not seem likely, from the sound of it.

Jenkins came up with the idea for Wonder Woman 1984 and the return of Steve Trevor (Pine) while shooting the first film, so it makes sense that she has already figured out what she wants to do to conclude Diana’s story. Obviously, speculation is nigh useless for a film whose precursor has not come out yet, but here are a few ideas for Diana’s future, based on what we know from the first film, the team up movies, and Jenkins’s own take on the character:

In Batman v Superman, Diana’s first onscreen appearance, she says she walked away from mankind and a century’s worth of horrors. However, both Jenkins and Gadot have voiced displeasure with that statement, with Gadot saying,

“None of us knew exactly, exactly, the backstory of Wonder Woman. And once they decided to shoot the solo movie for Wonder Woman and we started to dig in to understand the core of this character, we realized that, actually, there is no way that Wonder Woman will ever give up on mankind. The reason why she left the island was because she wanted to make their lives better and safer. They are her calling. So, I’m giving you a very honest answer, but it was—sometimes in a creative process, you establish something that is not necessarily the right decision, but then you can always correct it and change it. So Wonder Woman will always be there, as far as she’s concerned, for mankind.”

This might explain why what we know of Wonder Woman 1984—Steve’s return and Diana fighting to save mankind—doesn’t line up with continuity in Justice League and Batman v Superman. We’ve theorized that this is because Wonder Woman might help kickstart a new timeline altogether as a way to reboot the DCEU, but let’s just assume the films will all take place in the same canon for now.

Diana will most likely be at a point with humanity where her faith could have been shaken a little in Wonder Woman 1984. Her mortal friends will all be dead (though now’s the time I drop my usual plug for the Etta Candy TV show set immediately after the first film), and she will have seen three separate wars despite having killed the God of War himself.

It could be that Diana finds herself struggling with her mission, but Steve’s resurrection provides some hope as she faces off against Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and whoever Pedro Pascal is playing. It is likely that Diana will probably say goodbye to Steve a second time in this film, but their parting could be less traumatic this go round, and Diana would be able to better move on.

The third film would then, ideally, take place in the present timeline, with Diana in a post-Justice League world. Diana has finally come out of hiding and her heroic identity is known to the world. With over a century’s worth of experience, what does it mean to be a well-known hero? What is the public reaction to her, and will she draw the same controversy as Superman did? How will that impact her character? It would be a great path to explore with her character.

Of course, there might be another team-up film made before Wonder Woman 3 that could impact her character, and the ever wise Patty Jenkins certainly knows more about the character than I do. Still, it’s nice to know that in a sea of uncertainty, Jenkins knows where Diana is heading, even if it might mean bidding farewell to the character.

(via Vanity Fair, image: Warner Bros)

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