Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins had seemingly become an inseparable team. The two had made a pair of Wonder Woman movies together and in addition to planning to make a third film in that franchise, the pair were also set to team for a new movie about the life of Cleopatra. But now Gal Gadot will have to get used to working with a new director. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's Kari Skogland is now set to take over directing duties on the film now that Patty Jenkins has decided not to direct the movie.
Patty Jenkins isn't leaving the Cleopatra project entirely, as she will remain on in a producer role. Neither is she planning to leave Gal Gadot's side anytime soon. Deadline reports that the reason that Jenkins is stepping down as director here is so that she can focus on her next two directorial efforts, including the aforementioned Wonder Woman 3, and the Star Wars film Rogue Squadron.
This will be the first feature film directed by Kari Skogland in several years, and by far the highest profile film of her career. Having said that, Skogland has put together an impressive resume directing numerous high profile television series including episodes of The Handmaid's Tale, The Walking Dead, and the six episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so she's basically directed a Marvel movie.
Since Patty Jenkins is still producing Cleopatra, Jenkins is ultimately the one picking her own replacement as director. It's being reported that it was Skogland's work on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier specifically that sold the production on her to take over for Jenkins, as the scope of that series was what Cleopatra is aiming for.
And while seeing Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins work together again on something that wasn't Wonder Woman certainly was appealing, there's every reason for fans to actually be excited by the fact that Jenkins has decided to focus on her other projects.
Whatever your feelings on Wonder Woman 1984, most would agree that it was a step down from the original, and so one certainly hopes that the third film will regain the glory of the first movie. It's also great news to hear that Jenkins will have more time to focus on Rogue Squadron. There had been fear recently that this movie was having significant problems, and it's fate had been in question. It seems rumors of its demise had been exaggerated, as Patty Jenkins is still working on the movie.
And certainly, there's little chance that a Cleopatra movie was going to take anything less than a director's full attention. When a Cleopatra film was made in the 1960s it became one of the most expensive film productions ever, and it's difficult to imagine a modern version being anything less than a massive tentpole production.
