Wonder Woman 1984 Director Reveals Movie's Longer Cut Adds 15 Minutes of Footage

By Pierre Chanliau Updated:
Wonder Woman with golden armor and lasso of truth

Thus far, at least before the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max, the only director's cut for a DCEU movie has been Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will be receiving another remaster soon with an expanded aspect ratio. There have been brief rumors about David Ayer's Suicide Squad receiving a director's cut, much in the same manner that Zack Snyder got one for Justice League, but these were debunked by the director.

Hopefully, David Ayer could be given a chance to share his original vision in the future. Still, some fans have also questioned whether Patty Jenkins would be willing to do a director's cut for Wonder Woman 1984, since Warner Bros. has been providing a platform for Zack Snyder's cuts on HBO Max. Jenkins gave a rather blunt and honest answer to the question in a recent interview.

NEWS

In an interview with Collider, Patty Jenkins was asked whether fans would get to see a director's cut of Wonder Woman 1984 in the foreseeable future, either on HBO Max or a future physical home-release. Jenkins gave a rather detailed answer, which mostly concerned the director's cut just having a slower pace. 

The shorter version is “No.”

“No. I wouldn't even want to. The reason why is because I grew up with the pacing of films being a little bit slower and I think that's great. And when I show those movies to my son, there's no part of him that thinks they're too slow. When you watch Superman or you watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, nothing about it is too slow. We've gotten pretty quick moving in movies a lot now, but that doesn't add up to emotion to me. But I'm also a director, so who knows? I may be indulging myself and just playing around in scenes for too long to sustain the movie. Generally, directors do that when you leave them alone.”

Jenkins actually specified that at least 15 minutes were cut from the movie, but that it would just cause the movie to “be a little bit slower pace across the board.”

“So that's the only difference that I end up having is I would like to take a little more time and have a little more air all over the place in scenes we really had anyway. And that's it. So, if I aired my longer cut, it would be 15 minutes or 10 minutes longer and everybody would say, 'I couldn't tell the difference,' because it would just be a little bit slower pace across the board so it's not really worth it.”

WHAT THIS MEANS

Obviously, as Patty Jenkins says rather bluntly before her explanation, Wonder Woman 1984 will not receive a director's cut on HBO Max or any physical release. This isn't unusual for the director, since Jenkins' original Wonder Woman didn't have a director's cut either, as she claimed that it didn't have any deleted scenes.

As for those 10 to 15 minutes of cut footage from the HBO Max and theater release, as she said, it seems like they're not deleted scenes, but part of previous scenes that made them too long or slower-paced. Not every movie needs a director's cut for the sake of it, as Jenkins says. Sometimes all that will do is cause the movie to be longer and slower.

- About The Author: Pierre Chanliau
Pierre Chanliau began as a news & feature writer for The Direct at the site's launch in 2020. As a longtime reader of superhero comic books, Pierre's knowledge of Marvel and DC is extensive, informing his reporting and editorial pieces regarding the MCU and DCU.