James Gunn's Recent DCU Wonder Woman Update Is The Biggest Since Gal Gadot’s Third Movie Was Cancelled & I Couldn’t Be More Excited

Wonder Woman has received her biggest update in a long time, and it bodes well for her DC Universe future. Gal Gadot played Diana Prince in the DCEU’s movies, leading two solo films and appearing in multiple projects in supporting roles or cameos. Interestingly, Gadot’s Wonder Woman was present in The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, two out of the four final DCEU movies in 2023. Still, despite plans for her to return to the franchise, Wonder Woman 3 was scrapped by DC as DC Studios co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran, did not approve Patty Jenkins’ vision.

Since Jenkins walked away from directing the franchise, Wonder Woman has more or less been in a limbo when it comes to live-action. Diana was not one of the characters announced to have a project in the DCU’s Chapter One, with the other two thirds of DC Comics’ iconic Trinity, Batman and Superman, having movies announced for the DCU, while nothing was said about Wonder Woman. Instead, Paradise Lost, a prequel series about the Amazons before Wonder Woman’s birth, is the only project we know about related to the character. However, that might soon change after a new update.

Wonder Woman Will Be Recast For The New DC Universe

Gal Gadot Is Not Coming Back To The Big Screen As Wonder Woman

So far, the DCU’s Wonder Woman has appeared once. However, she was not played by an actress, as Wonder Woman had a cameo with no lines as part of a vision where several heroes died in a possible future in Max’s animated Creature Commandos series. What is known so far is that Gal Gadot will not reprise her DCEU role. While other stars from the past shared universe are coming back as their characters in the DCU, like John Cena as Peacemaker, Gadot’s possible DCU future would have to be like Jason Momoa’s, who left Aquaman for Lobo.

Initially, the actress claimed that she had a meeting with Gunn and Safran to discuss how they wanted to make Wonder Woman 3 with her in the lead role. However, that was soon said not to be the case by multiple reports. Instead, a major DCU report claimed the entire cast of 2017’s Justice League was out as their characters. This means that whenever Wonder Woman appears in the new DC Universe, it will be with a new actress playing Diana Prince, not Gal Gadot, and James Gunn has taken to social media to confirm as much.

I find it interesting how Gunn is so approachable, in the sense that he often interacts with fans on social media and is able to provide insight into his DCU plans and the direction DC is taking some characters. In June 2024, Gunn took to Threads to answer a fan about what was going on with Wonder Woman. Amid rumors that Wonder Woman would appear in Creature Commandos with a specific actress playing the role, a fan asked if it was safe to ᴀssume Wonder Woman had not been cast yet, which Gunn confirmed, saying, “Correct.” So, Gadot is out.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO Has Revealed The DCU’s Most Important Heroes

The New DC Universe Will Have Four Heroes As Its Stars

Recently, Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO, David Zaslav, talked about DC’s plans for the DCU in the studio’s Q1 earnings call (via ComicBookMovie). Zaslav commented on a few characters he sees as the main players of James Gunn’s DC Universe, being able to carry the franchise through Gunn’s 10-year plan and make money back for investors. Based on the executive’s comments, David Corenswet’s Superman, Milly Alcock’s Supergirl, Batman, and Wonder Woman will be the four pillars of the new shared universe, with three of those heroes already confirmed to have solo movies. Check out the full quote below:

“It’s important for us to be able to sell our content to third-parties [but] as we look at our тιтles, there are many that are really just for Warner Bros. When you look at the major characters with — that James Gunn and Peter Safran are developing with their 10-year plan around D.C., that is to build ᴀsset value for us globally everywhere in the world, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Supergirl. So those are — we look at those as big ᴀsset builders and big differentiators.”

While Wonder Woman is one of the four DCU characters David Zaslav dubs as “big ᴀsset builders and big differentiators,” she is the only hero out of the four not to have a set project to debut. Corenswet’s Superman is the star of the DCU’s first movie, which is expected to feature the debut of Alcock’s Supergirl in a cameo before she flies off to lead 2026’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which recently wrapped filming. Then there’s Batman, whose The Brave and the Bold movie has a secret writer working closely with Gunn. Wonder Woman still needs a DCU movie.

James Gunn Has Recently Shared A Positive Wonder Woman Update

Diana Prince’s DCU Future Has Finally Received A Significant Update

While we still don’t know when Diana Prince will formally make her DCU debut, the answer to that question seems to be getting the closest it has ever been since Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 was cancelled. Recently, Gunn responded to a fan on Threads, sharing an exciting update about where things stand with the DCU’s Wonder Woman. According to Gunn, he has updates on Wonder Woman that are “not to be shared publicly yet,” but the DC Studios co-CEO claims they are “encouraging.” This is the first concrete sign that Wonder Woman’s live-action return is in development.

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Back when reports claimed Gunn and Safran were not working with Gal Gadot on another version of Wonder Woman 3 after director Patty Jenkins walked away, it was said that there was no take on Wonder Woman in development at the studio. While Gunn does not directly claim that DC is working on a new Wonder Woman movie, fans now know that the director is developing Wonder Woman’s DCU debut in some shape, and I think that’s exciting. With popular fancasts for the role like Ana de Armas and Andor‘s Adria Arjona, casting for Wonder Woman can’t come soon enough.

I’m Convinced A Wonder Woman Movie Is Part Of The DCU’s Chapter One

James Gunn’s Comments About What’s To Come For The DCU Are Interesting

Wonder Woman Standing in Field of Stars DC

When the first projects in the DCU’s Chapter One were announced, Gunn made it clear that there was more to come before we moved to Chapter Two. According to Gunn, the movies and series that were announced in the franchise’s first wave made up only half of the DCU’s Chapter One. Based on that, the recent update on how “encouraging” things are moving on the Wonder Woman front, and the fact that David Zaslav claims she will be a pillar of the DCU, I feel confident that a Wonder Woman movie will be part of the DCU’s Chapter One.

A DCU Wonder Woman movie being announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 could be in the cards.

With Batman, Superman, and Supergirl all having movies in the first chapter of the franchise, it only makes sense that Wonder Woman will, too. I feel like the delay in announcing plans specifically for Diana is due to how Gal Gadot’s version of the character was still fresh in people’s minds, and DC had to first move away from cancelling Wonder Woman 3 before presenting its new vision for the character in the DCU. Now, enough time has pᴀssed to delve into what the DCU’s Wonder Woman should be like, and I think a solo movie could be announced soon.

Wonder Woman

The Wonder Woman franchise is part of the larger DC Extended Universe (DCEU), focusing on Diana Prince, an Amazonian princess and warrior who becomes the superhero Wonder Woman. The franchise began with the 2017 film Wonder Woman, which was a critical and commercial success, followed by Wonder Woman 1984 in 2020. These films explore Diana’s origins, her role in world conflicts, and her personal journey in adapting to the world of humans. The franchise is known for its strong feminist themes, action-packed sequences, and its portrayal of Wonder Woman as a symbol of peace and justice.

First Film: Wonder Woman
Latest Film: Wonder Woman 1984
Upcoming TV Shows: Paradise Lost (DC)
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Lilly Aspell, Lucy Davis