Summary
- Wonder Woman 3 could mirror Peacemaker season 2 and continue Diana’s previous story in a new universe.
- The film could follow Aquaman 2’s approach, distancing itself from the old DCEU and focusing solely on completing Diana’s arc.
- Wonder Woman 3 might actually be a reboot, starting a new franchise for the character in the DC Universe, allowing for a fresh take on Diana’s story and exploration of her ties to Greek mythology.
There are three ways that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 movie, which the actor recently soft-confirmed, can work in the new DC Universe. Gadot was cast by director Zack Snyder to debut as Wonder Woman in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The actress then went on to lead two solo movies as Diana, also appearing as a founding member of 2017’s Justice League and making multiple cameo appearances in other DCEU movies. Last year, Wonder Woman 3 was canceled after it was revealed that DC Studios’ creative chief James Gunn scrapped director Patty Jenkins’ script. That move seemed to end Gadot’s time as Wonder Woman until now.
Wonder Woman 3 is confirmed to be happening, with Gadot claiming that she will develop the movie alongside DC Studios co-CEOs Gunn and Peter Safran, although the actress made no comment regarding the possible return of original Wonder Woman franchise director Jenkins. With the old DCEU being rebooted with the new DC Universe, which effectively starts when 2025’s Superman: Legacy — written and directed by Gunn — debuts in theaters, Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 can’t possibly share any links to the dead universe, and there are a few key ways in which the movie could exist amid Gunn’s DC Universe reboot.
3 Wonder Woman 3 Can Mirror Peacemaker Season 2
Gadot’s return as Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 3 could take some cues from how John Cena’s Peacemaker season 2 will go. Cena first debuted as Peacemaker in Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, long before the director was approached to become DC Studios’ creative chief. The character then got his own spinoff series on HBO Max — now just Max — which transformed him into one of DC’s most popular anti-heroes. Given the character’s rise in popularity and the fact that Gunn is the show’s creator, Peacemaker season 2 was always going to survive the DCEU being rebooted into the new DC Universe.
While Peacemaker season 2’s release date will take some time to come, as Gunn will jump into the series after wrapping work on 2025’s Superman: Legacy, the show at least has been revealed to be set in the new DC Universe. As Gunn revealed, members from team Peacemaker will appear in the announced Waller series on Max — with Viola Davis returning as Amanda Waller — before Peacemaker season 2 rolls around. Season 1 of the show was deeply rooted in the old DCEU, following Peacemaker’s guilt over killing Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad and even having a cameo appearance by the Justice League, with Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller present.
Peacemaker season 2 will follow on from the first but still be considered part of the new DC Universe, something that Gadot’s return in Wonder Woman 3 could work with. That would perhaps be the simplest move to bring back Gadot as Wonder Woman in the new DC Universe, which has already recast her Justice League co-star Henry Cavill and will do the same for Batman actor Ben Affleck. With Cavill and Affleck out, keeping Gadot makes things confusing, so the DC Universe will want to mitigate that, and Wonder Woman 3 continuing the character’s arc while just changing the world the movie is set in is a possible path.
2 Wonder Woman 3 Could Follow Aquaman 2’s Approach
Another way Wonder Woman 3 could go is to follow Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom‘s approach. After leading 2018’s Aquaman, the surprise hit that became DC’s highest-grossing movie ever, with over $1.148 billion at the worldwide box office, Momoa will return as Arthur Curry this December for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, his second solo movie as the King of the Seas. The Aquaman sequel is in a tough spot as the final movie of the DCEU. The other two DCEU movies released by DC this year — Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash — became box office bombs.
While director James Wan confirmed he made changes so that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom fit the DCU, the movie is not directly connected to the rebooted universe. That said, the director’s comments also point to the film making an effort to distance itself from the old DCEU. According to Wan, “The Aquaman universe is pretty far removed from the rest of the world,” and the movie is “stand-alone in that respect.” Wonder Woman 3 could take that approach. Despite keeping the DCEU’s Wonder Woman actress, the movie could tell a story that does not involve any aspects from the wider DCEU, simply focusing on completing Diana’s arc.
Despite being originally envisioned as part of it, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is making an effort to distance itself from the old DCEU, even if the movie is seemingly not canon to Gunn’s DC Universe. Wonder Woman 3 could be Gunn’s way of allowing Gadot to return as Diana to finish her trilogy as the character before the role is recast for the new DC Universe. By taking the same approach as the Momoa film, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cutting Batman to let go of the DCEU, Wonder Woman 3 has a chance of succeeding even if it isn’t part of Gunn’s DC Universe.
1 Wonder Woman 3 Could Be A Totally New DCU Series
While Gadot talked about her developing Wonder Woman 3 with Gunn and Safran, the actress might have simply used “Wonder Woman 3” to refer to her third solo movie as the character, not necessarily meaning that the film will be a continuation of her two previous solo entries as Diana in the DCEU. The movie itself could be a reboot of the character, starting a new franchise for Wonder Woman in the DC Universe while also keeping Gadot in the role.
That would be the best approach for the film, as it would allow Wonder Woman 3 to fix Diana’s story issues. While Gadot’s time as Wonder Woman has been mostly met with praise, fans have made it clear that the Wonder Woman movies aren’t exactly what they want from the character. The most common complaint comes from the lack of exploration pertaining to Wonder Woman’s ties to Greek mythology, something Gunn’s DC Universe can focus heavily on. Through the announced Paradise Lost Wonder Woman prequel series, the DCU can set up a whole new world of possibilities for Gadot’s rebooted Diana to discover in Wonder Woman 3.