With the success of 2017’s “Wonder Woman,” people tend to forget that before then, director Patty Jenkins wasn’t the superstar director she is today. Of course, she broke out in a big, big way thanks to the Charlize Theron-starrer “Monster,” but between that film and ‘WW,’ there was 14 years of only directing one or two episodes of TV series. And in a new interview with Vanity Fair, the director discusses those hard times and explains why she’d like to return for an eventual “Wonder Woman 3.”
As mentioned, after the Oscar-winning success of “Monster,” Jenkins was on top of the world. But as she explains, that didn’t mean she was given the keys to the Hollywood kingdom. In fact, it was the opposite. She was expected to play by their rules only, leaving her passion projects on the back burner.
READ MORE: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Pushed Back 7 Months To Summer 2020
“They all wanted me to do their thing,” Jenkins said. She continued by explaining that when she would pitch her passion projects post-”Monster,” the most common reply was, “I don’t get that kind of story.”
However, she explains that once she had massive success with “Wonder Woman,” that’s when Jenkins was able to see what the struggle was really about. She said, “It wasn’t until I had success that I felt like I suddenly could really see the sexism in the world, and in the industry. People weren’t interested in talking about those kinds of stories.”
Now, Jenkins has the pick of the litter, so to speak. After “Wonder Woman” became a massive critical and commercial hit, Warner Bros. had to woo her back for the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984,” and in the interim, she was able to direct and produce the upcoming TNT series, “I Am The Night.”
After that, she’s not so sure. One thing is certain though, Jenkins would love to come back to the “Wonder Woman” franchise and end the trilogy she has in mind.
“I have pretty clear plans for ‘Wonder Woman 3,’” Jenkins said. “Whether I it or not, I see how her arc should end in my incarnation of Wonder Woman. I have great passion for that.”
As for her post-”Wonder Woman” future, the sky’s the limit. Jenkins doesn’t see the roadblocks in front of her that prevented her from making her passion projects over a decade ago. “I think people are realizing there’s money to be made with these other stories that they may not totally understand, and that is incredible,” she said. “I feel like, ‘Oh, my God, there’s so many stories that I want to tell. Maybe I can actually get them made now.”
“Wonder Woman 1984” is set to be released on June 5, 2020.