At this stage, the team behind Wonder Woman 1984 will just be happy that Warner Bros. have finally and definitively committed to a release date, with speculation swirling from almost the second the DCEU sequel was delayed two months to Christmas Day that there was no chance it would arrive as scheduled given the continued uncertainty surrounding people’s willingness to return to theaters in huge numbers.
To put things into perspective, Diana Prince’s second solo outing was once named as the most anticipated blockbuster of 2020 and stood every chance of sailing past the billion dollar mark at the box office. The first installment opened to $103 million domestically back in the summer of 2017, but the number one movie on the charts last weekend was Vince Vaughn’s body swap slasher Freaky, which debuted with a haul of just $3.6 million.
Audiences are clearly in no rush to head back to the big screen, then, and simultaneously releasing Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max guarantees that millions of people are going to sign up to the streaming service in order to see it, and WarnerMedia will be hoping that enticing so many potential customers in one fell swoop will turn out to be a savvy business move.
Although a lot of folks will be lamenting another nail being hammered into the coffin of the theatrical industry, star Gal Gadot followed up the announcement with a statement of her own, sharing her excitement for the upcoming release.
“IT’S TIME. We’ve all waited a long time for this one to come. I can’t tell you how excited I am for all of you to see this movie. It wasn’t an easy decision and we never thought we’d have to hold onto the release for such a long time but Covid rocked all of our worlds. We feel the movie has never been so relevant and we hope that it’ll bring some joy, hope and love to your hearts. Wonder Woman 1984 is a special one for me and I can only hope it’ll be as special to you too. We’ve put our hearts and souls into it. So… you can watch it IN THEATERS (they’re doing an amazing job keeping it safe) and you can watch it on HBO Max from your homes. Sending you my love. Please keep safe and wear a mask. Happy holidays to all of us! Let the light shine in.”
Director Patty Jenkins previously admitted that she didn’t want Wonder Woman 1984 to head straight to streaming, but the filmmaker has clearly been overruled. Which is just as well, as after being delayed multiple times already, fans have certainly waited long enough as it is to see the candy-colored superhero adventure.