Well, THAT was fast.
Just two days after Warner Bros. announced that director Michelle MacLaren was leaving their upcoming Wonder Woman movie, they have already found their replacement. Deadline reports that filmmaker Patty Jenkins (Monster) will now be helming the upcoming superhero film, starring Gal Gadot as one of the most recognizable superheroes in the world.
The news is particularly unexpected when one looks at Patty Jenkins’ history with superhero movies. The director was originally attached to Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World in 2011, only to leave the project amidst controversy two months later, citing the same “creative differences” that were used to explain Michelle MacLaren’s departure from Wonder Woman.
Related: Michelle MacLaren Exits the ‘Wonder Woman’ Movie
Although it is highly implausible that the exact same “creative differences” were responsible for Patty Jenkins leaving Thor: The Dark World as were responsible for Michelle MacLaren’s decision to leave Wonder Woman (assuming, of course, that it was her decision to make), the fact that Jenkins is now replacing another filmmaker who left a similar project under similar circumstances certainly does carry a whiff of irony to it.
Patty Jenkins has only directed one feature film to date – the Oscar-winning serial killer drama Monster – but has worked on several hit TV series, including The Killing, Entourage and Arrested Development. And to her credit, the superhero movie she walked away from – Thor: The Dark World – is now considered one of the lesser films in the Marvel Studios franchise.
Wonder Woman is still set to premiere in theaters on June 23, 2017, one year after the new live-action version of the character makes her debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on March 25, 2016.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
