We all know Michelle MacLaren stepped down from directing the DC adaptation Wonder Woman, but the details on the separation where not as clever. As the dust clears, however, some insights on the matter start to come to light.
In an in-depth piece from Variety, it appears the "creative differences" which led to MacLaren's separation came from the Breaking Bad director's desire to make Wonder Woman an epic origin tale in the same vein as Braveheart. Warner Bros., however, wanted the film to be a more character-driven story less action-heavy. It's odd to hear a studio wanting their feature to be less action-friendly, but that's what the report says.
Over time, Warner Bros. apparently also grew more concerned with MacLaren tackling such a large, action blockbuster, especially since Wonder Woman would be her first feature film and her experience has regulated only to TV thus far. This is even though she's helmed more higher-scale series like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul and the aforementioned Breaking Bad.
If that weren't enough, MacLaren was also not accustomed to the process behind movie making, as it's easy to believe for a first-time movie maker. An undisclosed source called the pre-production phase "tortuous," while apparently there were five other screenwriters working on the Wonder Woman script alongside Jason Fuchs (Pan). In this time, Warner Bros. executives tested story concepts from MacLaren, which they didn't like. At this time, MacLaren and her team have not commented on these claims.
These concerns are mostly in the past by now, as Patty Jenkins (Monster) is now slated to direct the superhero movie. The replacement came quick, as the studio still wants to start production this fall. The release is currently scheduled for June 23, 2017.
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