Warner Bros. has moved up Gal Gadot’s “Wonder Woman 2” six weeks to Nov. 1, 2019, from Dec. 13, 2019.
The studio made the announcement Monday. Patty Jenkins is returning to direct. It’s the first title to land on Nov. 1, 2019. The new date also places “Wonder Woman 2” seven weeks away — rather than a single week — from Disney-Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Episode IX,” which opens on Dec. 20, 2019. The new Nov. 1, 2019, date is a week before the opening of the 25th James Bond movie.
“Wonder Woman” was a massive hit for Warners with $412 million in domestic grosses and $409 million internationally.
“Wonder Woman” is the fourth installment in the studio’s DC Extended Universe, which launched with 2013’s “Man of Steel” with an opening weekend of $116.6 million, followed by last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” with $166 million, and “Suicide Squad” with $133.6 million. “Wonder Woman,” made for about $150 million, is critically acclaimed, with a 92% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Wonder Woman” opened with $103 million in North America on June 2-4, but has outperformed the other titles to become the 20th highest domestic grosser of all time. It’s the second-highest-grossing 2017 title after “Beauty and the Beast.”
The New York Post reported on Nov. 11 that Gadot was refusing to do the sequel unless Brett Ratner’s production company was not involved but Warner Bros. has said the story is “false.” RatPac had been a financier on “Wonder Woman” but Warner Bros. severed ties with Ratner on Nov. 1 following revelations of multiple cases of sexual harassment by the filmmaker.
In 2013, Warner Bros. signed a $450-million passive co-financing deal with RatPac Entertainment, of which Ratner is CEO. That deal expires in March 2018, making the involvement of RatPac a moot point. There are five more films that RatPac helped finance but “Wonder Woman 2” is not one of those films.