In the more than three years since Wonder Woman hit theaters, Patty Jenkins has had ample opportunities to reflect on the film’s legacy. While it was an unqualified success and helped establish both herself and Gal Gadot as Hollywood heavyweights, the director has admitted she faced some challenges during the filmmaking process. One disappointment with the finished product ultimately led to a bright spot in Wonder Woman 1984, though -- because Patty Jenkins’ frustration with the original film’s ending helped inspire the final moments of the sequel.
The end of Wonder Woman was a big topic of discussion when the film initially hit theaters in 2017. While the film on the whole was praised by fans and critics alike, many took issue with the third act and the fact that it seemed to fall into typical superhero movie tropes.
Filmmakers can have varied reactions to critiques of their work, and Patty Jenkins, it seems, was all too aware of the criticism surrounding her 2017 film. But as she told IGN, it’s one that she actually agreed with:
The original end of the first movie was also smaller but the studio made me change it at the last minute. And so, that's always been a little bit of a bummer that that's the one thing people talk about because I agreed and I told the studio we didn't have time to do it, but it was what it was. I ended up loving it, but it was not the original end of the movie. This time around, you know what I loved about it? I love that it has both at the end. We had a visual effects, a big battle, which I just dug into and had such a blast executing, which I felt so satisfied with. But ultimately the end of the movie is much more pared down. That was really, really fun. No spoilers, there's all kinds of stuff going on, but it was really fun to shape it differently.
It’s good to hear that even though Patty Jenkins’ wasn’t fully satisfied with Wonder Woman’s ending, she was able to transform her disappointment into something positive. Fans have waited a long (long) time to get a chance to see for themselves what’s in store in the sequel and, on Christmas Day (in partnership with HBO Max) Warner Bros. will finally give fans a chance to see it -- either in theaters or at home.
If the early reviews of Wonder Woman 1984 are any indication, it sounds like the sequel will have been worth the wait. Fans can look forward to exciting content, even after the ending Patty Jenkins is so excited about sharing. We recently learned there’s a post-credits scene, and it will be available to fans regardless of how they choose to see the film.
Did you like Wonder Woman’s ending? Let us know in the comments!
