Nice one, DC: binning Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman to back the wrong hero
If you were holding out for Gal Gadot’s third Wonder Woman outing, DC swerved — and put its chips on another hero that hardly looks the safer bet.
The DC Universe had one job, didn't they? With Gal Gadot absolutely nailing it as Wonder Woman for two films, you'd think they'd want to lock in a third. But here we are in 2026, and instead DC has binned off the idea and pinned their hopes on someone else—specifically, Supergirl. Let's unpack this odd choice, because the maths and the history both say Wonder Woman was the much safer bet.
The Shape of the New DC
After the DC Extended Universe fizzled out a bit (being polite), there was hope the studio would get things on track when James Gunn and Peter Safran took the reins. Gal Gadot's Diana Prince had already cemented her place as one of the better things to come out of all that cape-waving and CGI rubble. She was, honestly, one of their big hitters. But as the new bosses reset everything, Gadot quietly disappeared from the superhero conversation.
In a recent interview, Gadot confirmed she hasn't spoken to anyone at DC about picking up the gauntlets again, and she doesn't seem to be chasing it, either. Her comments were more like a curtain call than a hint she'd return. Here’s how she passed the torch:
During the interview, Gadot said, 'This is such an incredible character that so many of us care about so much, so whoever it's going to be to portray her, I wish for her that she enjoys this amazing ride with this amazing character. And I'm just grateful that I was granted the opportunity to wear her boots and celebrate this incredible character and everything she stands for.'
So, if you were holding out for Gal Gadot suiting up one more time—well, that door just got firmly closed. Which, frankly, feels like bad business. Say what you want about the former DC regime, but at least they knew when they'd struck gold.
Wonder Woman vs. Supergirl: The Numbers Don't Lie
Here's where it gets properly baffling. The track record for Gadot's Wonder Woman was rock solid. Her debut solo film back in 2017 was easily the DCEU's standout—critical praise and a fat $824 million in global box office receipts. That film is still the one most fans point to when they need proof DC can actually do things right on occasion.
The follow-up, 'Wonder Woman 1984', wasn't nearly as adored by critics, but let's be fair to it: it landed slap-bang in December 2020, right in the middle of all that pandemic chaos. Warner Bros. released it simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max, leaving the worldwide box office at $169 million. Not great, but considering the circumstances, not disastrous either. Compare that to Supergirl's haul last summer—a limp $126 million—and the scale of the misfire becomes obvious.
'Wonder Woman' made $824 million in 2017, while 'Supergirl' scraped in $126 million in 2025.
And it's not just the money. When Gadot's Wonder Woman showed up in 'Batman v Superman', she had space to make an impression well before her solo adventure. By the time her own film landed, the audience was on board. Supergirl, by contrast, got a last-minute cameo at the end of 'Superman' (the new one with Milly Alcock), before being rushed into her own film. Unsurprisingly, it didn't resonate in quite the same way.
If they'd led with Wonder Woman 3 instead of gambling on a barely introduced Supergirl, the smart money says they'd have had a box office hit. Yet here we are. And now the new-look DCU is back where it started: hunting for that elusive bankable star. They've let Gadot walk, despite the draw her name brings, and replaced her with a newcomer who barely had time to get out of the phone booth.