After over a year of anticipation, DC fans will finally get a chance to see Wonder Woman 1984 — but not in the way they were probably expecting. On Wednesday, it was announced that the film will be moving forward with its planned Christmas Day release date in theaters that are open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it will also be available to stream on HBO Max on the same day. The news has definitely surprised movie fans – even as the pandemic has already thrown a lot of the world of theatrical movie releases into disarray – and it looks like franchise star Gal Gadot is speaking out about the news. Similar to a post from director Patty Jenkins, Gadot took to Twitter on Wednesday night to address the news.
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“IT’S TIME. We’ve all waited a long time for this one to come,” Gadot’s statement reads. “I can’t tell you how excited I am for all of you to see this movie. It wasn’t an easy decision and we never thought we’d have to hold onto the release for such a long time but Covid rocked all of our worlds. We feel the movie has never been so relevant and we hope that it’ll bring some joy, hope and love to your hearts. Wonder Woman 1984 is a special one for me and I can only hope it’ll be as special to you too. We’ve put our hearts and souls into it. So… you can watch it IN THEATERS (they’re doing an amazing job keeping it safe) and you can watch it on HBOMax from your homes. Sending you my love. Please keep safe and wear a mask. Happy holidays to all of us! Let the light shine in.”
Wonder Woman 1984 is directed by Patty Jenkins, and stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva/Cheetah, and Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord. As WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said in a statement upon the HBO Max announcement, he hopes the film will provide a communal experience during the holiday season.
“While we will pay attention to theatrical revenues, our expectations are clearly adjusted due to COVID-19. In parallel, we will be paying close attention to the numbers of families and fans diving into HBO Max, as we certainly anticipate that a portion of fans will choose to enjoy Wonder Woman 1984 that way on opening day and beyond. To provide a comparable, a little over four million fans in the U.S. enjoyed the first Wonder Woman movie on its opening day in 2017. Is it possible for that to happen again this Christmas with Wonder Woman 1984 between theaters and HBO Max? We are so excited to find out, doing everything in our power to provide the power of choice to fans.”
What do you think of Gadot’s statement regarding Wonder Woman 1984‘s new release strategy? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
As mentioned above, Wonder Woman 1984 will be released in select theaters on Christmas Day, as well as on HBO Max.
