When bringing up Justice League, it’s important for one to clarify which version of the movie they’re talking about. Because while Zack Snyder initially directed the fifth DC Extended Universe entry and is finally bringing his full vision of that project to life for HBO Max, the Justice League that played in theaters was drastically altered during reshoots, which were helmed by Joss Whedon. That Justice League ended up critically and commercially underwhelming, and Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins is among the people who don’t care for this version of the movie.
Patty Jenkins recently stopped by ReelBlend to talk about Wonder Woman 1984, and during the conversation, CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell asked the filmmaker if she watched the theatrical cut of Justice League to see how Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince was handled. Jenkins responded with the following:
The Justice League? … No, I think that all of us DC directors tossed that out just as much as the fans did. But also, I felt that that version contradicted my first movie in many ways, and this current movie, which I was already in production on. So then, what are you going to do? I was like… you would have to play ball in both directions in order for that to work. The only thing I have done, and have always tried to do, is -- I knew, when Zack was doing Justice League, where she sort of ends up. So I always tried… like, I didn’t change her suit, because I never want to… I don’t want to contradict his films, you know? But yet, I have to have my own films, and he’s been very supportive of that. And so, I think that that Justice League was kind of an outlier. They were trying to turn one thing into, kind of, another. And so then it becomes, ‘I don’t recognize half of these characters. I’m not sure what’s going on.’
So while Patty Jenkins already tackles the Wonder Woman movies with a more self-contained approach rather than thinking too much about wider DCEU ties, she at least consulted with Zack Snyder about what he had planned for Diana Prince in Justice League, hence why she didn’t change Diana’s costume. However, Jenkins simply did not care for Joss Whedon’s version of Justice League, particularly because of the ways it contradicted with what she brought to the table in 2017’s Wonder Woman. Jenkins added that it was “hard” seeing Diana depicted in Justice League in a way that didn’t line up with how she envisioned the character.
From the extensive reshoots (which included the Mustachegate debacle) to the allegations that have come out in recent months that Joss Whedon treated the cast and crew unprofessionally and abusively, it’s clear that Justice League had a troubled production. Justice League’s performance also resulted in a sequel being sidelined and Warner Bros prioritizing standalone DC movies over more team-ups. Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been described as an “Elseworld” tale, so as far as the main DCEU continuity is concerned, it doesn’t look like Wonder Woman will be joining forces with her Justice League cohorts again anytime soon, if at all.
As far as Wonder Woman 1984 goes, the sequel picks up with Diana Prince 66 years after the events of the first Wonder Woman movie, with Diana protecting humanity in her costumed guise, but living a lonely life otherwise. Her world is turned upside down by the reemergence of Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor, who was thought to have died at the end of World War I, and she’ll also have to clash with Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord and Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva, a.k.a. Cheetah. In addition to directing Wonder Woman 1984, Patty Jenkins also co-wrote the script with Geoff Johns and David Callaham.
Wonder Woman 1984 will come out in theaters and on HBO Max December 25, and along with Wonder Woman 3 being in the works, Patty Jenkins is also working on an Amazons spinoff. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for updates on both those projects, and browse through our DC movies guide to learn what else this superhero franchise has on the way.
