Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins has criticized streaming movies.
“All of the films that streaming services are putting out, I’m sorry, they look like fake movies to me,” she said at CinemaCon, as part of a wider conversation on the future of the theatrical experience (H/T LA Times). “I don’t hear about them, I don’t read about them. It’s not working as a model for establishing legendary greatness.”
Wonder Woman 1984 ended up a simultaneous release on HBO Max and in theaters due to the ongoing pandemic – and Jenkins shared her thoughts on that release model in the same conversation, calling it a “heartbreaking experience” and commenting: “It was detrimental to the movie… I don’t think it plays the same on streaming ever.”
Plenty of big releases have ended up going to streaming this year, including Warner Bros.’ entire theatrical line-up, which was shifted to a day-and-date release strategy. Disney debuted its Premier Access model on Disney Plus, which allows audiences to watch a brand new film on the day of its theatrical release at home for a fee. This hasn’t been without its roadblocks either, though – Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the movie’s release for what she says is a breach of her contract, and the film is on track to be one of Marvel’s lowest grossing ever.
Films have also been hopping around the release slate lately as the pandemic shows no sign of abating, with Venom 2 recently delayed by a month (and it may or may not be shifting to January 2022), while Top Gun: Maverick just moved from this year to May 2022.
Streamers, meanwhile, have continued to put out high profile titles throughout the pandemic – with Netflix alone releasing titles like David Fincher’s Mank, the Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman-starring Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the Fear Street trilogy, and Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. Jenkins’ Wonder Woman collaborator Gal Gadot is also starring alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix’s Red Notice, due out this November.
Before Wonder Woman 3, Jenkins will be helming Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which doesn’t currently have a release date. While you wait, check out our guide to the best Netflix movies.
