This situation between Patty Jenkins and Warner Bros. Discovery is turning into an all-out war of words. And I’m starting to get that same feeling I got during the Ray Fisher scandal, when rumors painting him as problematic and hard to work with suddenly began to emerge, probably from studio execs. Following news that Wonder Woman 3 had been canceled, similar stories began to emerge about Jenkins, including that she walked away from the project after a pitch was rejected. Well, Jenkins isn’t going to sit back and take it. She’s fighting back.
Jenkins took to Twitter and decided to speak out against the narrative being formed around her. For full context, Jenkins has a bit of a reputation in some circles. She walked away from Thor: The Dark World over creative differences, and recently her Rogue Squadron movie was shelved for similar reasons. In fact, Jenkins addressed that Star Wars spinoff before moving on to discuss Wonder Woman 3…
“Here are the facts: 1 originally left ‘Rogue Squadron’ after a long and productive development process when it became clear it couldn’t happen soon enough, and I did not want to delay WW3 any further. When I did, Lucasfilm asked me to consider coming back to RS after WW3, which I was honored to do, so I agreed. They made a new deal with me. In fact, I am still on it, and that project has been in active development ever since. I don’t know if it will happen or not. We never do until the development process is complete, but I look forward to its potential ahead.”
Jenkins then turned her attention to Wonder Woman 3, and reports that she walked out on the project and sent studio execs a link to the term “character arc” when they didn’t like the direction taken for the character…
“When there started being backlash about WW3 not happening, the attractive clickbait false story that it was me that killed it or walked away started to spread. This is simply not true. I never walked away. I was open to considering anything asked of me. It was my understanding there was nothing I could do to move anything forward at this time. DC is obviously buried in changes they are having to make, so I understand these decisions are difficult right now.”
“I do not want what has been a beautiful journey with WW to land on [a] negative note. I have loved and been so honored to be the person who got to make these last two Wonder Woman films. She is an incredible character. Living in and around her values makes one a better person every day. I wish her and her legacy an amazing future ahead, with or without me.”
“Gal Gadot. Where do I even begin? Gal is the greatest gift I have received in this whole journey. A cherished friend, inspiration, and sister. There are no words I can use to convey how magical she is. She is the walking embodiment of Wonder Woman in real life and a better person than the world can imagine. Never once in the millions of moments I have spent with her did I see anything less. She is a gift to this world and even more so to me. Lastly, but most importantly, THANK YOU to the incredible WW fans and for all of your love and support.
So at least from Jenkins’ perspective, WBD is making a hard choice when it comes to Wonder Woman 3 but she’s open to returning if the project moves forward. Rogue Squadron is still in active development and may or may not happen.
This is a very different narrative being spun, but also a more positive one so I’m hoping it’s true. Her relationship with Gadot appears to be strong, and she seems to genuinely want the best for the character and the franchise. With so many changes at happening at DC Studios, it’s a mystery how things will shake out. As a fan who thinks the Jenkins/Gadot partnership has been gold, I hope it can keep going for a long time.
