“Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins is one of the most successful female American directors working today thanks to that DC Comics adaptation.
The film marked a major turning point for the post-Nolan DC Extended Universe – delivering its first major critical success ahead of strong reception and box-office for “Aquaman” and “Shazam”. Sandwiched in between there though was Zack Snyder & Joss Whedon’s “Justice League,” a film considered a failure on numerous levels.
Now, in an interview with Premiere, Jenkins revealed Warner Bros. Pictures gave her an offer to direct a “Justice League” movie – but she turned it down as she was not interested in directing a superhero team-up:
“I love comics, but I’ve come to superheroes through films. There is in me this desire to emulate compared to the movies I saw as a child. A certain spirit that reigned in those times. Is that relevant when I shoot? I don’t know. The point is, unlike other directors, I don’t really care about shared universes, continuity, and that kind of detail. I’ve been contacted to make a Justice League movie in the past, and it doesn’t connect to me. Too many characters.”
It’s not clear what ‘League’ she’s talking about, possibly she was offered to take over the reshoots on Snyder’s film after he was forced to part with it due to a family tragedy with Joss Whedon ultimately taking the job. Or it could be a whole other project.
Jenkins’ desire for full control could well explain her turning down “Thor: The Dark World” which would have required her to bow heavily to MCU continuity. It’s also why she is very happy with how the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984” turned out:
It shows immediately if a director cannot impose his/her vision. When this is the case, I get the impression that these people are doing a different job than me. But with Wonder Woman 1984, I think I did exactly what I wanted. And then, everything a superhero movie needs comes naturally to me: I love shooting great action scenes versus great sets. I really enjoy it.”
Jenkins has also clarified a rumor about the relationship between Kristen Wiig’s Barbara/Cheetah and Gal Gadot’s Diana, namely that there might be a romantic subplot there. Jenkins shoots that down, telling SFX: “It might have [happened] in a different storyline. But because this storyline was so clearly about Steve [Trevor] coming back, the whole story was about Steve. It’s all a love story with Steve. There wasn’t room for two for Diana.”
“Wonder Woman 1984” is currently slated to open in cinemas on August 14th.
Source: Comicbook.com, CBR
