The writing team spearheading Wonder Woman 2 is about to welcome some new blood.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Dave Callaham, one of the scribes behind hit actioner The Expendables, has been brought in to co-write the 2019 sequel alongside Geoff Johns and Patty Jenkins, the latter of whom recently agreed to write, direct and produce Diana’s second solo flick.
Bringing an end to months of speculation, two days ago Warner Bros. announced that Jenkins had finally put pen to paper on a seven-figure deal, becoming the highest-paid female director ever in the process. The finer details of said arrangement are yet to be disclosed, but THR went on to claim that Jenkins is poised to earn anywhere between $7m and $9 million up front, along with a “considerable backend,” which is to say that the filmmaker will receive a small portion of the sequel’s box office takings.
Circling back to Callaham’s appointment, though, and today’s report also cites previous comments made by Patty Jenkins regarding the time period in which Wonder Woman 2 takes place. Now that Diana has survived The Great War and lived to tell the tale – thanks to the heroics of Steve Rogers, of course – word is that Jenkins plans to situate her 2019 sequel in the midst of the Cold War.
The Hollywood Reporter didn’t offer up any further clues to back up those claims, but after crafting a treatment with co-writer Geoff Johns, Jenkins and the newly-appointed Dave Callaham will now begin composing the Wonder Woman 2 screenplay. The ball is (almost) rolling, folks.
However, one potentially major headache is the fact that Star Wars: Episode IX has relocated to December 2019 since the hiring of J.J. Abrams, and is now poised to open a mere seven days after Wonder Woman 2 (December 13th). It’s shaping up to be a busy corridor, then, but which big-name blockbuster do you expect to reign over the box office in two years’ time? Do let us know.