There’s new leadership at DC and that means changes are coming including “Wonder Woman 3” being scrapped with the potential for an even bigger reckoning coming soon…
The DC film and television universe is about to face a dramatic change.
With new leadership in place as James Gunn and Peter Safran take over the studio, plans are being put together for a complete overhaul that could see numerous projects shelved or completely discarded as well as several actors leaving starring roles even as upcoming films are set for release.
The bombshell dropped on Wednesday courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter with perhaps the biggest news that “Wonder Woman 3” — a film expected to be directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot — was being scrapped completely after the first treatment for the story was recently submitted. According to the report. the third “Wonder Woman” film is now considered “dead” at least based on the current plans for the story and the character.
Jenkins and Gadot had teamed up previously for the first two “Wonder Woman” films and the duo had already announced plans for a third film. That all changed after Gunn and Safran were recently hired to take over the studio with the duo serving in a role similar to Kevin Feige at Marvel, which required them to take a long, hard look at the current slate of films while also planning for future projects at DC and Warner Bros.
Gunn and Safran have reportedly put together a preliminary plan to reshape DC films and television — presumably with a shared universe similar to Marvel — but that would require a lot of changes made before moving forward. While there are several projects already filmed and set for release in 2023 and beyond, Gunn and Safran are expected to start moving beyond those movies in order to give DC a fresh start under the new regime.
While final approval for the plan hasn’t been given just yet, Gunn and Safran were hired for this exact reason and expected to have the latitude to overhaul the entire studio before moving forward.
In addition to “Wonder Woman 3” being axed, the report also states that Gunn and Safran’s plan will also likely spell the end of all of the previous actors who played characters in the so called “Snyderverse,” which was started by writer and director Zack Snyder.
All signs are pointing towards Jason Momoa portraying Aquaman/Arthur Curry one last time in the already completed sequel “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” which is due out on December 25, 2023, but then he would no longer appear as the character. There is a possibility that Momoa could stay in the DC Universe, however, with rumors that he may return to play intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo — a character he’s expressed admiration for numerous times over the years.
Obviously, that’s still just a rumor, however, and far from any sort of done deal.
In addition to Momoa exiting his role as Aquaman, Gunn and Safran are also expected to scrap plans for Henry Cavill to return as Superman after he just recently announced his intention to return to the role following a brief appearance in a post-credit scene in “Black Adam.” That would mean plans for “Man of Steel 2” are also expected to be scrapped.
Speaking of “Black Adam” — the passion project led by Dwayne Johnson — it appears the new leadership at DC are also not likely to greenlight a sequel to that film, which didn’t exactly explode at the box office after it was first released. While Johnson stated on Twitter that “Black Adam” was expected to return a solid profit following reports that the movie stood to lose millions, it appears none of that will matter in the long run.
Instead, Gunn and Safran are looking to essentially wipe the slate clean and start new — at least based on this report — and start working towards relaunching the entire DC film and television universe over the next few years.
Of course some projects will still move forward as expected including “Peacemaker” season 2, which Gunn is personally writing after he launched the series, but almost everything else at DC Studios that hasn’t already been filmed is now at risk of being shelved or repackaged as the new leadership reveals a bigger plan for the future.
Stay tuned as more news surrounding this developing story is revealed.
