Wonder Woman Director Patty Jenkins Says Streaming Service Movies Look “Fake”

Patty Jenkins is best known for helming Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984, and she has some other big projects in the works like Wonder Woman 3, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, and Cleopatra, which is set to star Wonder Woman‘s Gal Gadot in the titular role. Recently, Jenkins took part in a CinemaCon panel (via The LA Times) and discussed the fact that Wonder Woman 1984 was the first big movie of the pandemic to have a “day-and-date release” by Warner Bros., meaning it hit theaters and HBO Max at the same time, which has become the norm for the company in 2021. In addition to discussing the day-and-date releases, Jenkins also slammed movies that are being made by streaming services, calling them “fake.”

“I think this is such an interesting period of time because this pandemic struck right when we were at a moment when we were debating this issue anyway. It has been very easy for a lot of people to use the pandemic as an argument pro-something that some of the industry was already trying to do, which is day-and-date,” Jenkins explained. “The truth is, I have thought there was a big misunderstanding of the theatrical industry going on for a long time. In my view, the theatrical industry was always booming and can always be booming if it has diverse content, appeals to all age groups and is a wonderful experience.”

She added, “And in my lifetime, I have watched diversity of content plummet. You can have six theaters in town, even in Los Angeles, and they’re all playing the same three movies. Quality of the screens has gone way down. I’d say 80% of the time I go into the theaters, the volume is at a 6 or a 5. The streaming industry has proven that it wasn’t true that adults didn’t want to go see dramas, and that people didn’t want to go see documentaries. They do want to see those all things. I’m going to fight right by your side to keep my films in the theatrical experience and I’m excited for us to bring back the theatrical industry on the other side of this.”

During the panel, Paramount Pictures domestic distribution president Chris Aronson made the comment, “I have a line that if you put a film on TV, no matter what it was originally made for, it’s a TV film. Put it in a theater, that’s a movie.” That’s when Jenkins replied, “And by the way, aren’t you seeing it? All of the films that streaming services are putting out, I’m sorry, they look like fake movies to me. I don’t hear about them, I don’t read about them. It’s not working as a model for establishing legendary greatness.”

Many people have taken to Twitter to criticize Jenkins for her comments. You can check out some of the reactions here. How do you feel about Jenkins’ remarks? Tell us in the comments!

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron hits theaters on December 22, 2023. Wonder Woman 3 is also expected to be released sometime in 2023, and Cleopatra does not yet have a release date.