Patty Jenkins doesn't need Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth to share her thoughts on the DCEU. She recently said she had plans for Wonder Woman 3, and a vision for how Diana Prince's arc should end. That said, we're still more than a year away from Wonder Woman 1984, and Wonder Woman 3 has yet to get an official green light from Warner Bros. Still, her comments got fans thinking the potential story and timeline for Wonder Woman 3. Would it be another period piece or perhaps even send Diana into the future? Here's how Jenkins answered:
I'm not dying to do another period piece. It was funny, I read an article today on whether it would be in the future or what it would be. ... It's definitely one of the things we've talked about. I'm not pining to put it in the past again, because where are you going to go? I think it would be weird. You have to go forward. It's definitely a contemporary story. That's all I can say. And so where we put it and how that gets figured out, I haven't totally nailed down.
So Patty Jenkins was willing to confirm to THR that Wonder Woman 3 would definitely be a contemporary story. That might put Diana Prince just after the timelines of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
Gal Gadot's Diana Prince made her debut in BvS, which was set a year-and-a-half after the first DCEU movie, Man of Steel. From there, we went back in time for her Wonder Woman origin story, meeting Steve Trevor during the World War I setting. Both Diana and (somehow) Steve Trevor are returning for Wonder Woman's sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, which helpfully included its timeline right in the title.
Chris Pine has already said he's done with Steve Trevor after Wonder Woman 1984. Saying goodbye to Steve (again) before Wonder Woman 3 would make sense. Otherwise why wouldn't we have at least heard from Steve in the contemporary timelines of BvS or Justice League?
Wonder Woman 1984 wrapped filming in December 2018, and Gal Gadot shared some photos and gushing love for the cast and crew. She clearly had a great time making the movie, and must also be excited to keep going with another film.
Wonder Woman was a huge hit for Warner Bros./DC, especially at the domestic box office, where it remains the top-grossing domestic film of the DCEU. Aquaman has the overall DCEU title (and DC in general) with a worldwide gross over $1 billion, but fans in North America were particularly fond of Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman 1984 has a lot to live up to, but even if it doesn't surpass Wonder Woman at the box office, or with fans and critics, it still seems like DC/WB would let Patty Jenkins continue her vision into Wonder Woman 3. If she has an idea for how Diana's story arc should end, in some kind of contemporary timeline, then we should be able to see that play out. Warner Bros. seems to be on a new path after the success of Aquaman, with the new plan to focus less on the shared universe and more on the individual movies and directors' visions.
Wonder Woman 1984 is scheduled to open June 5, 2020, which is almost exactly three years since the release of Wonder Woman in June 2017. Does that suggest Wonder Woman 3 would open in 2023? Maybe, maybe not.
For now, Patty Jenkins is busy promoting I Am the Night, which she directed and executive produced, with Wonder Woman's Chris Pine in the lead role. That six-episode series premieres tonight (Monday, Jan. 28) at 9/8c on TNT.
