Normally, when studios set out to make superhero film sequels, it’s a race against the clock. Release dates are usually set before a script is even finished, and fans hear horror stories about editing right up to the point of the world premiere. But that’s not the case for director Patty Jenkins and the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984.”
According to a recent appearance at CCXP in Brazil (via THR), the filmmaker revealed that, because of a release date delay of a little over 6 months, the new “Wonder Woman” film is already done, well ahead of schedule. And with months of a buffer, Jenkins finds herself “fiddling” with the film, perfecting it. And it appears that much of the tinkering is in an attempt to shorten the film.
“I have an idea and I’m like, maybe it would make [the movie] shorter,” said Jenkins. “We’re not going to officially say [how long the movie is] yet, however it’s in a good territory.”
According to the filmmaker, the first cut of the film came in at 2 hours and 45 minutes. And in the current era of superhero films like “Avengers: Endgame,” that’s not even all that bad. Hell, it’s a good hour less than the recently-revealed runtime of Zack Snyder’s cut of “Justice League.”
“It wasn’t like three hours and a half; I’m not that kind of filmmaker,” she added.
As for why the runtime is a bit long still and why she’s content with just “fiddling,” Jenkins explained that sometimes shorter scenes on paper turn into something much bigger on set.
“It was interesting that so many scenes that we set out to shoot, then something great would happen and then we would expand upon it and definitely with the action, what some things that were written to be very small little moments turned into, ‘But that’s so awesome.’ It’s hard when you end up with that situation,” she said.
READ MORE: 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020
Obviously, WB will probably get the runtime for “Wonder Woman 1984” well below the 165-minute length. That being said, the first film was two-and-a-half-hours long, so it’s not like Jenkins will have to cut that much. But either way, she has plenty of time.
“Wonder Woman 1984” is coming to theaters on June 5, 2020.