Warner Bros.’ bold and potentially game-changing call to send their entire slate of 2021 movies to HBO Max on the same day they hit theaters could alter the very fabric of cinema, especially with the industry a long way away from returning to any sort of normality after almost ten months in the doldrums.
The studio opened a can of worms with many of their contracted talents, especially since Wonder Woman 1984 duo Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot were consulted weeks in advance about the DCEU sequel heading straight to streaming and awarded a hefty bonus in the process, while others were informed just 90 minutes before the news went public, with Dune director Denis Villeneuve absolutely furious at his sci-fi epic losing out on what could potentially be hundreds of millions of box office dollars.
Back when times were certain and precedented, Wonder Woman 1984 stood a great chance at hitting the billion dollar mark, but it now looks guaranteed to drive up subscriber numbers for HBO Max by millions on Christmas Day instead. Jenkins has always signalled her intentions to return for the third installment of the franchise, but in a recent interview, the filmmaker admitted that she’s not so sure anymore given the recent developments that could jeopardize the future of the theatrical model as we know it.
“We’ll see what happens. I really don’t know. I know that I’d love to do the third one if the circumstances were right and there was still a theatrical model possible. I don’t know that I would if there wasn’t. I would like to believe that it is temporary, but I’m not sure I do. But I’ll tell you, some studio’s going to go back to the traditional model and cause tremendous upheaval in the industry, because every great filmmaker is going to go work there. And the studios that make this radical change, particularly without consulting the artists, will end up with a very empty slate of quality filmmakers working there.”
Thankfully, the director has plenty of time to make a decision, having recently been announced for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, while she’s also developing a new spin on the story of Cleopatra with Gadot set to star. By the time those two projects have been completed, things will have hopefully gone back to normal and Jenkins can sign on the dotted line as expected for Wonder Woman 3.