Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 2 Deal Makes Her Highest-Paid Female Director: Report

Patty Jenkins, the director of Gal Gadot-starrer Wonder Woman, will reportedly return for the sequel after finalising a deal with Warner Bros. While Jenkins had already been at work on the script for the next chapter with DC film head Geoff Johns, the studio had yet to close out the directing position for her.

According to Variety, the new deal with Jenkins - rumoured to be in the $8-million range - makes her the highest-paid female director of all time. Though that's certainly a lot, it's worth noting female directors are generally paid much less than their male counterparts. By comparison, the record for the highest-paid male director is around the $20-million mark (Christopher Nolan).

For Warner, that's the second major deal in the last week, having nailed down a director for Suicide Squad 2 in Gavin O’Connor, the man behind films like Warrior (2011), Miracle (2004), and Tumbleweeds (1999).

Wonder Woman was the first critical success for WB and DC's flailing universe, which had given us two disasters – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad – and a mediocre entry – Man of Steel – prior to its release. It was a box office hit globally too, having raked in more than $800 million during its theatrical run.

Gadot is already signed up for Wonder Woman 2, and she'll also be seen in the DC superhero get-together Justice League, which releases November 17. Jenkins is meanwhile busy with a TV mini-series called One Day She'll Darken, which involves Wonder Woman and Star Trek star Chris Pine.

Wonder Woman 2 is slated for release on December 13, 2019.