Gal Gadot Confirmed To Return For Wonder Woman 3
Gal Gadot will be back in Wonder Woman 3.
This article is more than 2 years old
Gal Gadot just had a pretty good weekend. The Wonder Woman 1984 star saw her much-anticipated movie finally hit both the big and small screen to plenty of hype and fanfare. It was a rather groundbreaking moment in the history of movies, one we will look back on likely as the time when viewers finally shifted away from the big theater. And it looks like her weekend will get even better now with word that she’ll be returning for the third Wonder Woman movie maybe sooner than later.
It was likely a foregone conclusion that Gal Gadot would be returning for another turn as Wonder Woman in this franchise. Considering the size and scope of the movies and just how popular she’s been as the titular character, I don’t think anyone would have expected this latest movie to be the end of the line. The only real surprise here is just how enthusiastic the studios are to get another flick up on the screen, saying they are fast-tracking the next movie.
There are a couple of factors at play here with Gal Gadot announced to return so quickly after the movie’s release. First off, the Wonder Woman 1984 reviews trended on the stronger side though they did admittedly lag some behind its predecessor. That being said, 65% on the Tomatometer ends up being fine enough for an overall critical score.
More important was the box office performance for the movie. Gal Gadot and company were the first high-profile, big-budget movie to begin eschewing a brick and mortar theater run. Instead, they released Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max on Christmas Day, making it available for the platform’s users to see it rather than heading out to the movies. Overall, the flick took in $16.7 million at the domestic box office and $85 million worldwide.
With so much uncertainty around financials with this new set up, it was easy to envision a scenario in which the studios would take a wait-and-see approach with large-scale productions like this. But those opening numbers, it appears, either exceeded expectations or were at least in the ballpark of acceptable to make it easy to get Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins quickly on board for a third movie in the franchise.
And while HBO Max’s streaming numbers aren’t yet available to the public, or what signups to the platform looked like over the weekend, one has to assume those markers more than trended in the right direction. Many viewers, including yours truly, experienced issues Christmas evening when going to watch the film. This could have been because the platform’s servers had reached something of a critical mass. It’s speculation of course but would make a lot of sense considering the demand for the movie and the timing of the release on a holiday evening.
In all, Wonder Woman remains in good hands and Gal Gadot is the face of one of the biggest franchises out there right now. It’s good to know we’ll be getting a lot more of the character going forward.