Though filming has reportedly wrapped for Wonder Woman 1984, we still have a long wait before Patty Jenkins’ next film arrives in cinemas thanks to Warner Bros.’ surprising decision to delay the release by 7 months. But to put that setback into perspective, there are currently concerns that the sequel to last year’s Wonder Woman might not make the trip to Chinese theaters at all.
Gavin Feng has been keeping us up to date lately on the various news and hearsay around DCEU movies in China, and in a recent tweet, it’s alleged that current events may impact the distribution of the upcoming superhero movie:
“Some insiders believe trade war has impacted Hollywood business in China. Universal still don’t receive any response about First Man’s censorship. Many believe it’s because COLD WAR background story. Some even worry about Wonder Woman 1984.”
Damien Chazelle’s First Man – which could probably do with an extra market to make some money in – incorporates Cold War elements into its Space Race storyline, and apparently this has caused a problem for the movie in the People’s Republic. And just as the first Wonder Woman was set against the backdrop of World War I, it sounds like 1984 will be drawing on the international tension of its titular year.
While the report is vague enough to suggest that the film could make it past the censors regardless, you have to wonder if this concern might impact the content of the movie. After all, DC’s Aquaman benefited hugely from its record-breaking run in Chinese theaters, taking in a total of $93.6 million in its first weekend alone. And with Diana Prince’s next big screen outing still almost a year and a half away from release, Warner certainly has time to make some adjustments if necessary.
All in all, it’s hard to get a good read on the situation at such an early stage, but for North American viewers, Wonder Woman 1984 will be arriving in theaters on June 5th, 2020.
