Director Patty Jenkins debunks rumors that Wonder Woman 1984 will release on streaming platforms instead. Gal Gadot reunites with the filmmaker after their successful first venture in 2017's Wonder Woman. This time, however, the Amazonian Princess' new adventure will take her to the '80s where she'll face off with new villains in Barbara Ann Minerva/Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal).
Initially, the DCEU sequel was scheduled to release November 2019 but Warner Bros. pushed Wonder Woman 1984 to June 2020 because they wanted the project to have a summer release as they had for the original film. The coronavirus pandemic, however, threw a wrench at their plans as Hollywood had to reschedule both filming and release timetable to work around the global health crisis. Warner Bros. conservatively moved the film to August, but that, too, didn't work, so was its third delay to October. Now, Wonder Woman 1984 is set for a December 25 rollout and Jenkins says that whether or not the film makes that, she says that the blockbuster will hit theaters.
The filmmaker revealed on Twitter that the plan at this point is for Wonder Woman 1984 to be released in cinemas. Jenkins also effectively squashes persistent rumors that the sequel will drop on HBO Max instead just so it can finally rolled out, saying that this possibility isn't even being discussed. Read her full post below:
Over the last few months, movies scheduled to release in theaters have opted to drop on various streaming platforms, instead. This way, fans can enjoy them without risking the need to go to theaters — most cinemas have ceased operations anyways. Arguably the most high profile project to roll out on streaming platforms is the live-action Mulan which became available to Disney+ for an additional $30 fee. As Jenkins also mentioned in her post, their insistence that Wonder Woman 1984 releases in theaters has something to with saving traditional cinemas which have been severely hit because of the pandemic. Jenkins was among the group of filmmakers who recently asked Congress to provide relief for the struggling industry.
While Jenkins' and Warner Bros.' insistence to keep Wonder Woman 1984's release this December is understandable, it's also important that everyone takes the coronavirus situation very seriously. As mentioned by some fans in the comments sections who are asking them to reconsider this decision, they don't want the film to be tied to a potential superspreader event. In any case, things can still change in the upcoming months. So far, the DC sequel is the only major blockbuster still slated for a traditional roll out this year, if things don't improve in the foreseeable future, chances are that they won't have any choice but to push it back again since dropping it on HBO Max isn't an option.
Source: Patty Jenkins
