Gal Gadot dropped a surprising bombshell as the actress revealed that James Gunn and Peter Safran were developing a third Wonder Woman movie. Granted, just because the actress stated that they’re developing a sequel doesn’t guarantee that Wonder Woman 3 will see the light of day. Still, this was shocking news as Gunn and Safran are supposed to be rebooting the DCU starting with Superman: Legacy.
Gal Gadot was perfectly suited for Wonder Woman. However, the purpose of Gunn and Safran coming in was to start over the DC brand with a clean slate. It’s bad enough that the DCU brand is only a soft reboot since characters such as Amanda Waller and Peacemaker will make their returns in their respective shows. But Wonder Woman 3 is simply a bad idea. That’s just no other way to get around talking about the potential sequel.
The DC Universe Is A Confusing Mess
When James Gunn announced the entire slate of Phase One, Gods and Monsters, it created an air of excitement amongst most fans. It was time to get away from Zack Snyder’s original vision and jump into a new era that properly represents DC comics. However, not every fan was thrilled with the announcement of Gunn’s new slate. That’s due to the fact that the DCU isn’t a hard reboot.
Fans were notably furious over the releases of Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck as Superman and Batman. It makes sense for the sake of continuity. Bringing back Wonder Woman again now makes things murky and adds more to the confusion. The purpose of the new James Gunn and Peter Safran universe was to drift away from the disappointing DCEU. Given how bad the box office has been for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Black Adam, it makes no sense financially to reinvest in a property where fans have made it clear that they’re done with the DCEU.
More importantly, Gadot’s Wonder Woman has already interacted with Batman and Superman; how can she fit into a new universe with the same characters? Will she be the same Diana as the one portrayed in the DCEU? There are so many retcons that Gunn would have to do in order to make this genuinely work. It’s possible to make the final Wonder Woman an Elseworlds story, but after the reception that Wonder Woman 1984 received, is it even worth it?
The Reception To Wonder Woman 1984 Was Bad
Gal Gadot may be highly regarded as a great Wonder Woman, but 1984 was a bad film. It’s not impossible for Wonder Woman 3 to bounce and turn out to be good. But as previously mentioned, the reception to the DCEU following 1984 hasn’t gotten any better. The issue with the current slate is that the quality just hasn’t been up to snuff with what audiences are looking for.
Even if you ignore all of the DCEU flops following Black Adam, audiences have made it clear that they’re simply no longer interested in this version of the universe. Every single DCEU film has failed to make it to $500 million worldwide following Aquaman. Given how many have perceived WW 1984, there’s a strong risk that audiences would simply ignore the entry.
A bad film can ruin a series. There was hot demand for The Hangover Part II, but Part III flopped hard because of the negative feedback of the sequel. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice helped kill the box office returns of the Justice League. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was hampered by the hate of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are too many examples to point out why Wonder Woman 3 could end up becoming a huge miss financially.
It’s Time To Move On From The DCEU
It would’ve been great to see Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman get their swan song. That was a huge missed opportunity as it could’ve been a natural gateway into Gunn’s DC universe. However, it’s simply time to move on. The DCEU will always be looked at as a disappointing run, though it has a couple of great films under its belt.
However, James Gunn and Peter Safran need to focus on new stories that excite the fans for the rebooted universe. Trying to capitalize on the past success of the DCEU will only hurt the brand even further. Not everyone in the masses follows news outlets in regard to the DCEU, so they may be confused about why Wonder Woman 3 exists if Gunn rebooted the entire franchise.
If Gunn wants to go back and explore Wonder Woman then that’s a possibility. But only after successfully building their universe as they need to distance themselves from the DCEU as far as possible.
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