Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was canceled; however, the new DC Universe’s revealed plans for Diana Prince make up for the character’s canned project.
While Wonder Woman 3 will not be moving forward with Gal Gadot as Diana Prince and Patty Jenkins directing, the revealed plans for the character in the new DC Universe make the movie’s cancellation easier to digest. After two solo movies, Gadot will not get to conclude her trilogy as Wonder Woman. While there have been conflicting reports regarding Gadot’s involvement or not in the franchise going forward due to comments made by the actress, Wonder Woman 3 is not in development at DC. Wonder Woman 3’s cancellation stems from a larger plan.
According to reports, James Gunn’s new DC Universe will recast all the actors from 2017’s Justice League. That process has already started, with Henry Cavill being replaced as Superman by the DCU’s David Corenswet and a new actor confirmed to take on the Batman cowl from Ben Affleck for the announced The Brave and The Bold Batman reboot movie. While Gadot’s Wonder Woman will not be part of the DCU’s slate of projects, that does not mean that there are no plans for the character, with Gunn confirming Wonder Woman will appear within three years of the DCU and more.
Why The DCU’s Wonder Woman Plans Are More Exciting Than Wonder Woman 3
Two Projects Are Confirmed To Help Build Out Wonder Woman’s DCU Corner
While Gadot was good in the role of Diana, the DCEU failed to bring one of the most exciting parts of the character’s story to life: Wonder Woman’s connection to Greek mythology. Ares was poorly used in 2017’s Wonder Woman, being the weakest part of one of the DCEU’s best movies. There is so much untapped potential to be explored in the DCU about Diana’s dealings with the Greek gods and how her relationship with them has been shaped over the years, possibly since her birth in the DCU.
Wonder Woman’s story in the DCU can finally tap into that underexplored well of ideas. While there is currently no project announced for Wonder Woman’s DCU debut, there are two series that will help establish the character corner of the new universe. The Paradise Lost prequel series is the main Wonder Woman-focused project of the announced DCU slate. The show has been described as a Game of Thrones-inspired political drama about the Amazons of Themyscira hundreds of years before Diana’s birth. The animated Creature Commandos will also help set up Wonder Woman by including Anya Chalotra as the villain Circe.
Wonder Woman 3 Would Make It Harder To Distance The DCU From The Old DCEU
The Old Universe Was Already Running On Fumes
Besides the DCU having more exciting ideas to bring Wonder Woman closer to the comics than Wonder Woman 3 could, there is another main reason why Gadot returning to finish her trilogy as Diana Prince would not make sense right now. After years of controversial releases, with the final movies of the universe all underperforming and/or being panned by critics and fans, the DCEU has come to an end. Audiences showed through the poor numbers of 2023 DCEU movies such as The Flash that the universe was dying, and they were ready for the next step.
By bringing back Gadot as Diana for Wonder Woman 3, DC would be doing the exact opposite of what it should be. The studio needs to move forward and fully commit to fleshing out the new DC Universe, not focus on closing the story of DCEU characters that will not be brought into the new universe. Even if Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 were developed as an Elseworlds project — outside the DCU canon — the mere act of having the actress back as Wonder Woman would generate confusion when Gunn casts the new Wonder Woman of the DCU.
Instead of having to deal with the DCEU’s baggage, the DCU needs to make the most out of the years-long break between Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom — the DCEU’s final movie — and James Gunn’s Superman — the DCU’s first movie.
Wonder Woman 1984 Was A Letdown
The DCEU’s Last Wonder Woman Movie Left Much To Desire
Adding to the reasons why Wonder Woman 3 is not in DC’s best interests is the fact that Gadot’s last solo movie as Diana fell short of expectations. There is no denying that 2017’s Wonder Woman stands tall as one of the best entries in not only the DCEU but among any DC project ever, but the same cannot be said about Wonder Woman 1984. From a cartoonish villain to a convoluted — and downright creepy — way of bringing back Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor and more, Wonder Woman 1984 left a lot to be desired.
Even Gadot herself was not at her strongest in the movie, with her acting falling flat in some scenes. While it would have been exciting to see how the actress and director Patty Jenkins planned to turn things around for the franchise with the third movie, it also makes sense that DC is choosing to move on from that iteration of the character after Wonder Woman 1984 was such a letdown. Thankfully, the DCU has great plans in store for the character and her world that should make up for Wonder Woman 3’s cancellation in a major way.
