While the rest of the industry signs letters about the Warner Bros.-Paramount merger, Patty Jenkins put it in one sentence
Jenkins was asked point blank whether she would work at Paramount under David Ellison. She also gave her clearest answer yet on whether Wonder Woman 3 is dead.
If you have even a passing interest in the studio game, you'll have heard rumblings about this looming merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.. It's the kind of boardroom drama that tends to get fairly short shrift in interviews – nobody wants to risk annoying the big bosses. But Patty Jenkins, the director behind Wonder Woman (and a few other things you may have heard of), didn't exactly mince her words at a recent Manhattan event.
Jenkins said at the Tribeca and Chanel 'Through Her Lens' luncheon: "It's such chaos. I think the studio system is in such bad shape that I'm kind of tuning it out."
There's a groundswell of unease about this merger – thousands in the industry have signed open letters basically begging the powers-that-be to pull back, so Jenkins is far from alone in her scepticism. She was asked point-blank if she'd sign up for a film at Paramount under David Ellison once the dust settles, and she didn't slam the door. In fact, she left it pretty open, saying she's not ruling anything out because, well, things change, projects shift owners all the time, and actually, she thinks Paramount have made some cracking films recently. An unusually matter-of-fact stance, honestly.
But underneath that diplomacy, Jenkins still made it clear she thinks the studio system is on the ropes and no merger is going to magically fix that. Still, she did offer a glimmer of hope that original films can still find a way through: not nailed-on optimism, but at least not total gloom.
Jenkins, DC, and That Third Wonder Woman
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It's no secret Jenkins hasn't had the smoothest time with Warner Bros. lately, ever since Wonder Woman 1984 landed with an unfortunate thud. That box office flop shut the door on her third Wonder Woman film before it could get much past the rumour stage. On a podcast last year, Jenkins was asked – yet again – whether Wonder Woman 3 is actually dead, and she didn't sugarcoat it.
Her words then: "Yeah, for the time being, but probably easily forever."
She also pointed out that, as far as she knows, no other directors have tried to pick it up either – Warner Bros. are apparently in no mood to do "any Wonder Woman for the time being". James Gunn, now shepherding the DC cinematic universe, has also dodged giving any firm details about what's next for the Amazons. There are persistent internet whispers about Adria Arjona possibly being cast in the role…but there's nothing solid on that front yet.
Paramount and Warner Bros. are facing major industry resistance, with thousands having signed a protest letter against their merger.