In the opening act of Patty Jenkins’ beloved superhero blockbuster Wonder Woman, audiences were introduced to Diana Prince’s homeworld of Themyscira, a mystical island run by a race of Amazonian women. While the rest of that movie saw Diana exploring the wider world and helping Steve Trevor with a major World War I victory, a new spin-off will explore Themyscira in more depth.
Connie Nielsen is signed on to reprise her role as Queen Hippolyta in the Themyscira spin-off and recently spoke to CinemaBlend to clarify where the movie will place on the timeline of the Wonder Woman franchise. She explained, “It’s not just after what happens in Wonder Woman. There’s also some other stuff in there, which is related to a prior time as well. There is a lot of different sort of things that you can see where the story is a little bit origin-minded, but there are also other times involved.”
The Themyscira project was initially announced in December 2019. Patty Jenkins, director of the first two Wonder Woman films (and signed on to helm the third), is attached as an executive producer, working from a story she cooked up with former DC executive Geoff Johns. Jenkins has clarified that she won’t direct the movie – with Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and her Cleopatra remake, not to mention Wonder Woman 3, her schedule is pretty hectic at the moment – but she’ll be heavily involved in the development.
Jenkins has outlined a four-movie plan for telling Wonder Woman’s story on-screen. Three of those movies make up the mainline Wonder Woman trilogy, obviously, but the fourth one – this Amazon-centric offshoot – is still a significant chapter in the character’s on-screen DCEU arc. Jenkins explained, “There’s an arc that I have in mind for the first movie, and then the second movie, and then the Amazon movie, and then the third movie... Geoff Johns and I came up with the story [for the Amazon spin-off], and we sold the pitch, and we’re going to get it going.” According to Jenkins, the Themyscira movie will have “some twists and turns linked to what will happen between Wonder Woman 1984 and Wonder Woman 3.”
Due to the mixed critical reception to Wonder Woman 1984, the character’s DCEU solo franchise has hit something of a bump in the road recently. Still, Gal Gadot’s on-screen incarnation of the role remains wildly popular among audiences, and the sequel became one of the biggest blockbuster hits of the COVID-19 pandemic (which, frankly, isn’t saying much) with its simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max over the holidays.
While the story of the Amazons is one of the most highly anticipated upcoming DCEU releases, it’s not the only spin-off that’s been announced to follow one of the franchise’s major entries. Aquaman is getting a horror-tinged spin-off from James Wan centered around the terrifying creatures in the Trench kingdom, while Warner Bros. is so confident in the quality of Matt Reeves’ upcoming reboot The Batman that it’s already working on a police procedural spin-off about Gotham P.D. for HBO Max. There are no official release dates in place yet for the Themyscira spin-off or the third Wonder Woman film.
Wonder Woman 1984 is now playing in select theaters.
Source: CinemaBlend