There was a time when Wonder Woman 1984 was among the many huge movies we have to look forward to this year. That film has since been pushed back to summer of 2020, so we’ll be spending a much longer time speculating and thinking about the sequel to the DCEU’s 2017 hit Wonder Woman. But while we’re still thinking about the second movie in this series, director Patty Jenkins is already thinking about Wonder Woman 3. She said:
I have pretty clear plans for Wonder Woman 3. Whether I [direct] it or not, I see how her arc should end in my incarnation of Wonder Woman. I have a great passion for that.
Wonder Woman 1984 may still have a ways to go in the post-production process, but Patty Jenkins seems to already have her sights set on the future. We often hear filmmakers talk about having ideas or things they’d like to do or things that they are saving for potential sequels, but Patty Jenkins is more definitive and has clear plans for where the third film in the Wonder Woman franchise would go.
In her conversation with Vanity Fair, Patty Jenkins made it clear that her plans for Wonder Woman 3 would complete the arc she has in mind for the Wonder Woman character. So it seems that Patty Jenkins envisions a beginning, middle and end to the Wonder Woman trilogy, which would end in Wonder Woman 3.
Whether Patty Jenkins will get to realize her plans for Wonder Woman 3 is not entirely certain. The director expressed her passion for the character and she returned for Wonder Woman 1984, but she did leave open the possibility that she might not actually direct the threequel.
Patty Jenkins wasn’t a lock to direct Wonder Woman 1984 either, as she was only signed on for the first film but she secured a lucrative new deal after the first film’s success and returned. One imagines if that deal was only for the sequel, they will once again be at the bargaining table if Wonder Woman 1984 is also a hit. Even if she doesn’t direct, she would probably stay on as some kind of producer who would have a say in the direction of the third film.
As to what Patty Jenkins' plans are for Wonder Woman 3, she obviously did not say and we are left to speculate-- which is especially difficult considering we know so little about the story of Wonder Woman 1984. Not even seen a trailer was been revealed, with over a year to go until the film’s release.
I would guess that Wonder Woman 3 would feature another time jump, perhaps bringing the Themysciran to the present. It will also be interesting to see with the ever-changing nature of the DCEU and the focus going away from the shared universe-- if Wonder Woman appears in any other movies between Wonder Woman 1984 and Wonder Woman 3.
Whatever happens, it is encouraging that Patty Jenkins has a clear plan in place where she wants to take this character and that it is a three-film arc. She isn’t making it up as she goes along, and that should hopefully make for a cohesive trilogy when it’s completed. It also seems that she wants to see the story through. Whether she winds up directing or not is unclear, as Jenkins focuses on the first sequel.
After that who know what will happen. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy was three and done but Tony Stark has been a part of the Marvel movies long after his own solo trilogy was complete. So the end of a three-film arc is not necessarily the end of this onscreen incarnation of Wonder Woman.
We’ve got plenty of time to think about what the future holds for Diana of Themyscira, Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters on June 5, 2020. For movies hitting theaters this year, check out our 2019 release schedule.
