This week, director Patty Jenkins spoke about her Wonder Woman sequel and in doing so revealed that it actually won’t be a sequel at all. “We’re actually making a totally different film with a lot of the same, similar like things that we love, but it’s its own movie completely, so it’s not ‘2’ to us,” Jenkins told ET. “It’s an entirely new adventure together that we couldn’t be luckier [to do].”
What this means is the movie most likely won’t be called Wonder Woman 2. Instead, it sounds like the franchise is going to follow in the footsteps of the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher Batman movies.
For example, Batman Returns wasn’t a true sequel to 1989’s Batman. It was just another installment in the Batman franchise. Sure, there was a mention of Vicky Vale, but it was its own complete story and no story elements from Batman were carried over. The same could be said about Batman Forever. Despite a callback to Catwoman by Dr. Chase Meridian, it wasn’t a direct sequel to Batman Returns. With Batman & Robin, same thing.
What we got in the 80s and 90s were four different standalone stories about the same Batman character, and it sounds like this is exactly the approach that Patty Jenkins is taking with the Wonder Woman franchise.
Wonder Woman took place during WWI, Wonder Woman 2 is rumored to take place during the Cold War in the 1980s, and perhaps Wonder Woman 3 will bring the hero to the present day. With big gaps in time like that, it’s impossible for one movie to be a direct follow-up to the one that came before it.
Do you like this approach, or do you wish Wonder Woman 2 took us back to the WWI era for a true sequel? Let me know in the comments below.
