Wonder Woman 1984 Director Patty Jenkins Breaks Silence on HBO Max Release

The movie world has been in some pretty unexpected territory amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as social distancing and other health guidelines have made the traditional theatrical release experience impossible in many locations. A lot of films have either had to open in a limited release, delay their debut into the next year, or pivot to streaming — and it looks like Wonder Woman 1984 will be trying a mixture of that. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that WW84 will be debuting on HBO Max on Christmas Day, alongside its planned opening in select theaters. Patty Jenkins, who directed and co-wrote the upcoming blockbuster, recently took to Twitter to address the news, and offer a message to fans with mixed emotions about the ordeal.

“THE TIME HAS COME. At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else,” Jenkins’ statement reads. “We love our movie as we love our fans, so we truly hope that our film brings a little bit of joy and reprieve to all of you this holiday season. Watch it IN THEATERS, where it is made safe to do so (check out the great work theaters have done to make it so!) And available in the safety of your home on HBO MAX where it is not. Happy holidays to all of you. We hope you enjoy our film as much as we enjoyed making it.”

While WW84 isn’t the first Warner Bros. blockbuster to pivot over to HBO Max amid the pandemic – the studio’s remake of The Witches did so in October – it is undeniably the biggest project yet to do so. This comes after the film – which was first scheduled to be released in the fall of 2019 – has been delayed multiple times over amid the virus’ spread, with many speculating that it would be delayed once again in 2021.

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.

What do you think of Jenkins’ 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.