The release of Wonder Woman 1984 was not exactly the triumphant event that either its studio Warner Bros. or filmmaker Patty Jenkins would have liked. Amid middling reviews, outright criticism of certain aspects of the movie, and modest box-office gains, the Wonder Woman franchise has taken quite a hit in recent times. Another point of contention was various interviews that Jenkins gave recently which seemed to imply she was less than happy with Warner Bros. Addressing such rumors on Twitter, the filmmaker insisted the studio had been extremely supportive of her vision for the superheroine under their banner.
“Versions of this article seem to be everywhere and not true. There was no ‘war’ with Warner Bros. over [Wonder Woman]. I’m talking about 10 years of discussions with 10 different execs through them. And [the] whole beard thing was about other projects at other studios. I felt extremely supported in my vision on both films by [Warner Bros.], [Zack Snyder,] all the producers and everyone on board our eventual team. Just was a long road to get to make it. Let’s chill the dramatic headlines like ‘war.'”
The reference to “the beard thing” that Patty Jenkins mentions first came up during an interview that the filmmaker gave to Marc Maron. In that interview, Jenkins stated that she would often get hired for projects as the “token female” director who was only supposed to stand by, and let the men working on the project from behind the scenes do all the actual work.
“They wanted to hire me like a beard; they wanted me to walk around on set as a woman, but it was their story and their vision. And my ideas? They didn’t even want to read my script. There was such mistrust of a different way of doing things and a different point of view. So that was definitely happening, even when I first joined Wonder Woman it was like, ‘Uhh, yeah, ok, but let’s do it this other way.’ But I was like, ‘Women don’t want to see that. Her being harsh and tough and cutting people’s heads off, that’s not what- I’m a Wonder Woman fan, that’s not what we’re looking for. Still, I could feel that shaky nervousness [on their part] of my point of view.”
Although Jenkins does not address the issue here, another reason why fans were thinking she is unhappy with Warner Bros. was over the decision by the studio to release Wonder Woman 1984 online at the same time as in theaters. If reports are to be believed, both Jenkins and lead actress Gal Gadot had to be paid vast sums to publicly voice their support for the movie’s HBO Max release. However, now that the filmmaker is officially attached to the Wonder Woman 3 project in development, it seems all the past disagreements have been put to rest, at least for now.
Directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, and Natasha Rothwell. The film is now available in theaters and on HBO Max.
I felt extremely supported in my vision on both films by @wbpictures, @ZackSnyder all the producers and everyone on board our eventual team. Just was a long road to get to make it. Let’s chill the dramatic headlines like “war”. https://t.co/V7Tj1rOTBS
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) January 6, 2021