Director Patty Jenkins hit a home run with 2017’s Wonder Woman, which grossed over $800 million at the box office and giving the DC Universe a movie it could be proud of. But before Jenkins took Wonder Woman to new heights, she was briefly attached to the competition as the director of Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World. She left because of that old chestnut, “creative differences”. Now, Jenkins has opened up to Vanity Fair about precisely why she departed the project.
"I did not believe that I could make a good movie out of the script that they were planning on doing. I think it would have been a huge deal — it would have looked like it was my fault. It would’ve looked like, ‘Oh my God, this woman directed it and she missed all these things.’"
Jenkins doesn’t want it to sound like it was a bad script or movie (I quite enjoyed Dark World, for the record, even if critics damned it with faint praise), but simply that it wasn’t a movie she believed in. “That was the one time in my career where I really felt like, Do this with and it’s not going to be a big deal,” Jenkins remembered. “And maybe they’ll understand it and love it more than I do. You can’t do movies you don’t believe in.”
That other director ended up being Alan Taylor, and Dark World proved a moderate success so far as Marvel films go, grossing close to 650 million dollars.
Regardless, Jenkins believes she dodged a bullet when it came to directing the film. “The only reason to do it would be to prove to people that I could. But it wouldn’t have proved anything if I didn’t succeed. I don’t think that I would have gotten another chance. And so, I’m super grateful.”
Wonder Woman is considered the best DC Universe film by many, although Aquaman and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice both grossed more. Regardless, we can see her point about choosing the right projects. Even though Dark World was successful, it’s not really what comes to mind when compiling a list of the best Marvel movies, nor did it make Taylor a household name. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, broke new ground for superhero movies, and gave Jenkins the cache to do other projects, including the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984.
GAL GADOT as Wonder Woman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “WONDER WOMAN 1984,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Jenkins doesn’t want it to sound as if she has any negative feelings towards Marvel, however, and remains a fan of that universe. “I really have nothing but positive things to say about Marvel, because, honestly, they gave me that chance in the first place and it was not en vogue to do so. They found Thor’s rightful director. Taika’s so good for Thor. Oh my God, I love [Thor: Ragnarok]. His tone with Thor was just masterful. That felt like pure Taika to me.”
I think we can all agree on that.
Wonder Woman: 1984 was going to come out this June, but its release date has been pushed back to August 14 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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