Director Patty Jenkins opens up about why she decided to make sure Wonder Woman had a lighter tone than any of its DCEU movie predecessors. After waiting decades to see it happen, comic book fans finally got the Wonder Woman solo film they'd been waiting for when the Gal Gadot-led flick hit theaters earlier this summer, where it was met with widespread critical acclaim. And in the months since its early June release date, Wonder Woman has broken box office records left and right for itself - much to the joy of everyone who'd been calling for a female-led superhero movie in recent years - before recently garnering the title of highest-grossing superhero origin story film of all time.

So to say that audiences have been receptive of Wonder Woman would be an understatement, and coming off of the critical failures of Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad in 2016, it proved to be the game changer that the DC Extended Universe needed. And one of the film's greatest achievements was how it managed to recapture the same kind of light and hopeful tone of films like Raiders of the Lost Ark or 1978's Superman, without feeling completely disconnected from the rest of the DCEU titles.

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During a roundtable interview with Lucy Davis today as well, Patty Jenkins talked about why she decided to give the film such a lighter tone than the previous DCEU movies had, and why she thought it was an integral component of making sure Diana was brought to life faithfully on the big screen:

"I came in very definitively only wanting it to be [lighter], and so the choice of me, became the choice for that tone. So, probably. That probably was in conversation and that probably was a version and I sort of peripherally heard about. But definitely, I always believed that Wonder Woman’s not dark. So if ever there’s a place for a dark superhero, great, do it, but not Wonder Woman to me. That’s not a way I would want to make Wonder Woman."

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After parting ways with Marvel before directing 2013's Thor: The Dark World, Jenkins proved to be the perfect person to bring the first solo, live-action feature-length Wonder Woman film to the big screen. And indeed, Jenkins' commitment to representing the inner optimism and grace of Diana as a character - even amidst the film's horrifying WWI imagery - helped to give the film a strong emotional center. In fact, many have praised Wonder Woman for that exact reason, as being one of the more emotional superhero films ever made.

Based on Wonder Woman's awe-inspiring success, it doesn't come as much of a surprise either that Warner Bros. has already slated a release date for Wonder Woman 2 in 2019. And with Jenkins close to finishing a deal with WB to direct the sequel, it's clear that Jenkins' vision for Wonder Woman wound up paying off in spades for the filmmaker. Considering that Wonder Woman was also the first feature film that Jenkins has directed in 14 years since the Oscar-winning Monster was released in 2003, it feels safe to say that Jenkins cemented herself now, once and for all, as one of the more prolific directors working in the entertainment industry today.

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Wonder Woman will be available on Digital HD starting August 29, and on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD Blu-ray starting September 19.

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