Patty Jenkins has teased that Wonder Woman 3 is in the works, but the timeline of its release could be affected by Disney's recently announced Star Wars film, Rogue Squadron, which Jenkins is set to direct. According to Lucasfilm, which is owned by Disney, “The story [of Rogue Squadron] will introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy” [via Lucasfilm]. The project also has a deep personal meaning to Jenkins, whose father died while serving as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. In reference to the announcement of Rogue Squadron, Jenkins said:
It’s been a lifelong dream as a filmmaker to one day make a great fighter pilot film. As the daughter of a great fighter pilot myself, some of the best memories of my life are of seeing my father’s squadron take off in their F4s every morning, and hearing and feeling the awe-inspiring power and grace. When he passed away in service to this country it ignited a burning desire to one day channel all of those emotions into one great film.
With Rogue Squadron, Patty Jenkins will become the first woman to direct a Star Wars feature film, but the director has already broken records with her most well-known production: Wonder Woman. In 2017, Patty Jenkins became both the first woman to direct a major superhero feature film and the first woman to direct a production with a budget of over $100 million, and Wonder Woman remains the highest-grossing film of all time by a solo female director. Wonder Woman was a critical and financial success, all but guaranteeing a sequel. Wonder Woman 1984 will debut on HBO Max and in theaters on December 25th. The film has already garnered a promising critical reception and will likely lead to a third Wonder Woman installment by Patty Jenkins – something that the director herself has already hinted at, but Wonder Woman 3 remains unconfirmed.
Since Wonder Woman 3 has yet to be confirmed, Disney’s recent announcement that Jenkins will be directing Rogue Squadron could mean that it will be a while before a third Wonder Woman film potentially hits theaters. The most recent Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, began production in 2016 and didn’t release until late 2019. Though a start date for Rogue Squadron’s production hasn’t been announced, its release is scheduled for December 2023, which is fairly consistent with the timeline for Disney’s other Star Wars feature films - but it could mean that Wonder Woman 3 will be pushed out even further into the future.
However, even if fans must wait several years for Wonder Woman 3, they can take hope in the fact that it is very much on the mind of Patty Jenkins, who has already been working on the story for a while. Jenkins stated in a recent interview with Cinema Blend that she and Geoff Johns, a screenwriter and producer for Wonder Woman 1984, had written most of the story for Wonder Woman 3 – that is, until the year 2020 came along. “So much has changed in the world,” Jenkins said in the episode of Cinema Blend's podcast, Reel Blend. “I still love the story that we came up with… But I’m trying to say, ‘Don’t decide.’ Don’t fall in love with anything. See ‘What would Wonder Woman do now?’ What are you craving Wonder Woman to do in this world?”
While the future of the Wonder Woman franchise remains somewhat up in the air, it has been an incredibly successful franchise thus far, so Wonder Woman 3 is likely to get picked up by Warner Bros at some point– especially if Wonder Woman 1984 manages to do well despite setbacks due to delays and theater closures. But it could be a while before the project is confirmed and enters production. In the meantime, fans of Jenkins’s work will look forward to Rogue Squadron and get to enjoy her work on Wonder Woman 1984 in just a few short weeks.