Like, that’s not surprising. But, dang, that was fast.
As reported by Deadline, after a remarkably successful debut, especially considering the global pandemic, Warner Bros. is fast-tracking Wonder Woman 3. This third film in the series, and the fifth to feature Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, will be made with Patty Jenkins directing. According to Jenkins, it may be her last in the series.
While Wonder Woman 1984 has only been out for, oh, three days in the United States, it was released last weekend in foreign markets, where it’s done rather well, pulling in $US85 ($112) million worldwide. While far from the major debuts studios have been conditioned to expect from superhero movies, it’s a lot by 2020 standards, considering theatres all over the world are closed or generally unsafe. And this total isn’t including the HBO Max streaming numbers, which Warner Bros. hasn’t released but, based on the quick turnaround here, are likely pretty strong.
[referenced id=”1658580″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/12/wonder-woman-1984s-powerful-message-soars-above-its-superheroic-excess/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/16/uvxuqngi9lxxngap8ot6-e1608076116147-300×152.jpg” title=”Wonder Woman 1984’s Powerful Message Soars Above Its Superheroic Excess” excerpt=”The first 10 minutes of Wonder Woman 1984 moved me to tears. Part of it was the long-awaited return to Themyscira, seeing a young Diana (Lilly Aspell) battle her fellow Amazons in an epic action scene set to an incredible new score by Hans Zimmer. But another part was just…”]
“As fans around the world continue to embrace Diana Prince, driving the strong opening weekend performance of Wonder Woman 1984, we are excited to be able continue her story with our real life Wonder Women – Gal and Patty – who will return to conclude the long-planned theatrical trilogy,” said Toby Emmerich, the Chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement.
“‘Wonder Woman 1984’ broke records and exceeded our expectations across all of our key viewing and subscriber metrics in its first 24 hours on the service, and the interest and momentum we’re seeing indicates this will likely continue well beyond the weekend,” added Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager of WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer. “During these very difficult times, it was nice to give families the option of enjoying this uplifting film at home, where theatre viewing wasn’t an option.”
Wonder Woman 1984 has gotten a somewhat mixed reception, with some fond reviews from critics but a lot of criticism, at least that I’ve seen, for how the film treats its Middle Eastern characters as well as some general plotting concerns. Our own critic, Germain Lussier, found it largely successful, even as it leaned a bit too hard into its own excesses.
Wonder Woman 1984 is streaming on HBO Max, while the unnamed third film has no released date as of yet.
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