DirectorPatty Jenkins’ blockbuster sequelWonder Woman 1984hits theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day, and Collider’s Steve Weintraub recently got to talk with her about the highly anticipated film and her career as a filmmaker. During the discussion, Jenkins revealed some details about her upcoming filmCleopatra, which is set to starWonder Woman’sGal Gadotas the legendary Egyptian ruler.
Cleopatra has famously been the subject of several films, most notably the 1963 film starringElizabeth TaylorandRichard Burton. Jenkins had some interesting insight into how her portrayal of the iconic historical figure would be different from past adaptations, as well as the common themes it shares with her current body of work:
“I think I actually have a history of looking at complicated characters… in Monster, who you could tell the story and then, and then, and then. But the truth is when you get into that person’s point of view, it becomes an interesting story in a different way. And hopefully I did that with Wonder Woman as well. So applying that same approach to one of the most famous women in history, Cleopatra, the truth is, the only story that we know of her was told by the Romans who killed her and hated her. And so once we really start looking at what does exist elsewhere about Cleopatra, you see a pretty bad-ass, incredible leader. One of the great leaders in Egypt.
Jenkins continued, noting that point of view will be a key component of her take on the film:
“So once we really got down into the nitty gritty details, there’s a pretty incredible story there that is the same story but you understand totally differently if you change things just a little bit where you’re seeing it from. So I just think it’s a story that she deserves to have told one day beautifully. Gal has been developing this for a while and when she brought it to me, I was so excited by what it could possibly be. And I think she’d be an amazing Cleopatra.”
Many different filmmakershave tried to get aCleopatraproject off the ground in recent years, includingDavid Fincher,Ang Lee, andDenis Villeneuve. This particular project was developed by Gadot herself, who enlistedShutter IslandscreenwriterLaeta Kalogridisto draft a screenplay. Specific details about the plot are still unknown, but it’s a safe assumption is that this will be an epic historical drama with some massive battle sequences and extreme melodrama - a.k.a., a movie that will be an absolute blast to see in a theater. For more onWonder Woman 1984,read our review.
