“Director Chris Pine” is something we’ve gotten used to hearing as of late thanks to Poolman, his directorial debut, arriving in theaters. Of course, there are those who still hold out hope to see Pine in front of the camera and return to franchises like Star Trek movies, or the cancelled Wonder Woman 3.
In the case of the latter, the candidate for Hollywood’s Best Chris is still stunned it’s no longer an upcoming DC movie in the works. To be honest, I can totally get why he’s stunned – but I also understand why that sequel’s status probably wouldn’t have changed matters for him personally either way.
Why Chris Pine Is Still Stunned By Wonder Woman 3’s Cancellation
Chatting with Business Insider, Chris Pine shared his upset over the 2022 cancellation of Wonder Woman 3. Despite the negative fan response to Wonder Woman 1984, which also saw its box office impacted by a simultaneous streaming debut on HBO Max, the actor who memorably portrayed Steve Trevor doesn’t get why the studio pulled the plug.
Expressing his shock, Chris Pine said,
I’m stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere. I don’t know what the reasoning was behind that; it’s above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character; Patty is such a thoughtful director.
I’d venture a guess that the roster of projects making up DCU Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” is what ultimately killed the third Gal Gadot led picture. It doesn’t really help that Wonder Woman 1984’s critical reactions were a very mixed bag, with fans seeming to be even more upset with the end result of that controversial sequel. But at the same time, both Wonder Woman and its sequel combined to make just short of a billion dollars at the box office.
Even if Wonder Woman 3 were to happen, however, Chris Pine has basically written himself out of the potential cast list. And frankly, that’s wholly reasonable.
I Totally Get That Chris Pine Won’t Be Coming Back To The DC Movies
Following Steve Trevor’s death in Wonder Woman’s ending back in 2017, it was a pretty huge leap to bring him back for the events Wonder Woman 1984 – with the use of a wishing rock later seeing the character resurrected in another man's body. This is a comic book franchise, so there's always more than one way to resurrect a hero.
CinemaBlend's own Sarah El-Mahmoud previously questioned Wonder Woman 1984’s Steve Trevor controversial return, but per Chris Pine, we wouldn't have been asking similar questions about Wonder Woman 3. Chris Pine offered his thoughts on a third Steve Trevor sighting, saying,
Homie is dead. Steve is gonzo. It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back.
Reviving Steve Trevor once was questionable, but bringing him back for a potential Wonder Woman 3 would have been an even larger misstep. And with DC moving on from the Gal Gadot incarnation of Princess Diana of Themyscira, it’s clearly time to leave Chris Pine’s intrepid aviator behind in the past for good. Are we ever going to get a better sendoff for this plot line than that first heart-wrenching finale back in 2017?
Seeing as it's what the actor behind the role literally wants, it doesn't seem like it's that big of a stretch to write Steve off for good. Don’t fret though folks, we’ll always have both Wonder Woman movies to look back on with varying degrees of fondness. And at the time of publication, those DC titles are available to stream with a Max subscription.
