Wonder Woman 1984 Director Patty Jenkins Reveals Warner Bros. Execs Had Doubts While Filming

It’s kind of a joke at this point to hear about major blockbuster movies that are still figuring out their script in the middle of production (as we know, Avengers: Endgame didn’t even have one of its best lines until editing was almost completed). Speaking in a candid new interview, Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins opens up about this style of filmmaking and why she hates it, and having to battle the studio while in the middle of filming in order to maintain her vision. Jenkins pulled the curtain back on all this while speaking with The Trial of the Chicago 7 director Aaron Sorkin for Variety, calling it the hardest challenge of making a film of this scope.

“The hardest challenge is keeping the map in your head and not losing faith,” Jenkins said. “I think it’s absolutely imperative that you have your script done and you think it’s great. I don’t understand how people do it when things are changing. I don’t know how you could keep track of it. I’m not a believer in that. I’m not a believer in studios doing it. I wish they would stop doing it — get your s**t together and get your script written before you start making a movie. It drives me nuts.”

“So we did very thorough writing, and then every single day, you have to have faith in the writer in you and then in the artists that you worked with to make a plan, that the plan is going to work. But let me tell you, it’s absolutely fascinating to have to wait so long to see it come together. This was such a complicated film that even in the middle, the studio was like, ‘I don’t know about these things.’ I was like, ‘You can’t judge it yet. We don’t have the effects in. So it looks stupid now, but you have to wait.’ Carrying that is very lonely.”

In the end, Jenkins was right to hold her ground. Reviews for Wonder Woman 1984 continue to pour in but the film is currently sitting at 88% and “Certified Fresh” with 86 total reviews. ComicBook.com’s 3.5 out of 5 star review reads in part:

“Wonder Woman 1984 learns from the critiques of its excellent predecessor, delivering a much more contained finale by comparison to its extravagant and over-sized blow-out third act in the first movie, but it would have benefited from some more character work, sharper pacing and conclusions, and, well, a little bit more Wonder Woman. The team delivers an exciting and inspirational new tale, with a surprising level of worldly commentary considering when it was shot, along with a much-needed message of hope — all complemented strongly by the always empathic musical score from Hans Zimmer.”

Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters and HBO Max on December 25.

(H/T The Direct)