Originally published May 26, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
We’re just a week away from the release of the DC Extended Universe blockbuster Wonder Woman, which sees director Patty Jenkins becoming the first female filmmaker to helm a movie with a budget in excess of $100 million. However, Jenkins could have taken that honour back in 2013, had she not chosen to depart Marvel Studios’ own superhero project Thor: The Dark World.
Speaking to Uproxx, Jenkins revealed why she decided to step away from the Marvel sequel:
“I don’t think I could have made a good movie out of Thor 2 because I wasn’t the right director,” said Jenkins. “And I don’t think I would have been in the running for Wonder Woman as a result. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m glad I didn’t do it. Because I could have made a great Thor if I could have done the story that I was wanting to do. But I don’t think I was the right person to make a great out of the story they wanted to do. I was heartbroken. I was like, oh, what a bummer. But in retrospect it all makes sense.”
Jenkins went on to explain to Buzzfeed what her take would have been: “I wanted Jane to be stuck on Earth and Thor to be stuck where he is. And Thor to be forbidden to come and save Jane because Earth doesn’t matter. And then by coming to save her … they end up discovering that Malekith is hiding the dark energy inside of Earth because he knows that Odin doesn’t care about Earth, and so he’s using Odin’s disinterest in Earth to trick him. And so it was like, I wanted it to be a grand [movie] based on Romeo and Juliet … a war between the gods and the earthlings, and Thor saves the day and ends up saving Earth.”
Jenkins was eventually replaced on Thor: The Dark World by Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones), but we’ll get to see her finally trying her hand at the superhero genre when Wonder Woman arrives in cinemas next week. Meanwhile, we’ll have to wait until March 2019 for a female-helmed Marvel movie, with Anna Boden co-directing Captain Marvel with Ryan Fleck.
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.
Wonder Woman will hit cinemas on June 1st in the UK and June 2nd in North America, with Patty Jenkins (Monster) directing a cast that includes Gal Gadot (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Connie Nielsen (Gladiator), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Ewen Bremner (Snowpiercer), Said Taghmaoui (American Hustle), Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In), Lisa Loven Kongsli (Force Majeure), Lucy Davis (Shaun of the Dead) and Ann Wolf.
