In an unfortunate state of events, it was announced director Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones) no longer will direct DC's upcoming Wonder Woman, as she leaves the project due to "creative differences."
As The Hollywood Reporter notes, it's vague at the moment what exactly went south between MacLaren and Warner Bros. Of course, this is not the first time a female director signed on then exited a superhero project for similar reasons, as the same happened with Patty Jenkins (Monster) in 2011 when she was slated to direct Thor: The Dark World. In this case, another Game of Thrones director, Alan Taylor, took her place.
In fact, to this day, the only woman to ever direct a superhero movie is Lexi Alexander, who helmed 2008's Punisher: War Zone. Many, including this writer, hoped this would change with MacLaren when she called the shots on this new movie, especially considering how well she's done in the past with Breaking Bad and recently with her Better Call Saul episode "Mijo". Unfortunately, it appears it wasn't to be this time, unless Warner Bros. hires another female in her place.
Production on Wonder Woman was scheduled to start this fall with a June 23, 2017 release date set. It's not clear, in light of these changes, if this is still the case. Gal Gadot, however, remains attached to star at the titular character, as she is in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Justice League movies. One assumes Jason Fuchs' screenplay will also still be used unless someone says otherwise.
Wonder Woman was set to be MacLaren's feature directorial debut, as she was rumored and then attached to the project since November. No one knows at the moment whether she'll move on to a new movie or go back to directing TV.
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com