Though Wonder Woman 1984 is still well over a year away from release, Patty Jenkins has already teased plans for a Wonder Woman 3. And while the first two installments in this proposed trilogy delve into different periods of 20th century history, the director has suggested that the third movie is going to bring us back to the present day.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Jenkins remarked that she currently has no intention of making Diana Prince’s third solo outing another period film, stating:
“I’m not set, but I’m not dying to do another period piece…it’s definitely one of the things we’ve talked about. I’m not pining to put it in the past again because then where are you gonna go? You have to go forward. So it’s definitely a contemporary story. That’s all I can say. And so where we put it and how that gets figured out, I haven’t totally nailed down.”
While Jenkins has plenty of time to change her mind, a modern setting for Wonder Woman 3 sounds like it’s probably the right call. Not only would a contemporary story serve as a fitting conclusion for a trilogy that’s been taking us on a journey through recent human history, but a jump to the present day would also free the movie from the predetermined path created by Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. By setting the third film after the two Zack Snyder flicks, Diana’s future finally becomes a blank slate, giving the character room to change and evolve in ways that she couldn’t in her two period films.
In any case, while we still have much to learn about Wonder Woman 3, one other detail dropped by Chris Pine earlier this month is that his character Steve Trevor probably won’t be in the threequel, which only figures seeing how Steve has already lasted longer than expected with his 1984 appearance.
Speaking of which, whether or not we even get a third movie will probably depend in part on whether Wonder Woman 1984 can match the success of the first installment, but so far, there’s little reason to believe that Warner Bros. won’t have another hit on their hands when the film hits theaters on June 5th, 2020.