Chris Pine is Stunned Warner Bros. Scrapped WONDER WOMAN's Billion Dollar Franchise Though He's Sure He Wouldn't Have Returned

Chris Pine was the love interest of Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, in the first two films of director Patty Jenkins’s DC franchise for Warner Bros.

The first film was a box office smash hit, beloved by fans and critics alike. The second film was unfortunately not a hit, and though a third film was in the works, the studio backpedaled and canceled the project amid the change when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as heads of DC.

When Pine recently spoke to Business Insider while promoting his feature directorial debut, Poolman, he was asked about Wonder Woman, and he said he’s struggling to understand how Warner Bros. could pull the plug on a franchise that grossed the studio nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

“I’m stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere. I don’t know what the reasoning was behind that; it’s above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character; Patty is such a thoughtful director.”

Pine said that he doubted he would’ve returned for Wonder Woman 3 had it been made, as his character is “dead” and “gonzo,” adding, “It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back.” He also remembered originally being skeptical of the role of Steve Trevor.

“I had no interest in playing the boyfriend, and it sounded like second fiddle. Then, in talking to Patty, the way she described it was, ‘Forget the superhero of it all, this is a romance, this is ‘Casablanca,’ that’s the movie I want to make.’ I was like, oh, now that is very cool because when have you seen a superhero film that was a love story, ultimately? That had nothing to do with blowing shit up.”

The first movie was so, so good. The second one missed the mark, but I feel like Jenkins and Gadot were worthy of one more movie together.

If Gunn decides to start over with a new Wonder Woman, he will have some big shoes to fill.