Why The DCEU Flashpoint Reboot Won’t Really Affect Wonder Woman 3

The DCEU is all but guaranteed to undergo a reboot similar to the famous Flashpoint crossover arc from the comic books, but this likely won’t have a significant effect on Wonder Woman 3. The upcoming DCEU movie, The Flash, is set to not only be Barry Allen’s first solo outing on film, but it will also delve into the DC multiverse, bringing back Michael Keaton’s Batman from Tim Burton’s classic films and likely resulting in a massive continuity shakeup by the film’s conclusion. If Wonder Woman 3 is similar to its predecessors, however, it will be left largely unaffected by The Flash’s continuity shakeups.

The DCEU franchise followed a general plan for its characters and storylines that was the collaborative vision of filmmakers like Zack Snyder, Patty Jenkins, and James Wan. Warner Bros, however, has opted to alter the trajectory of the film franchise, in part due to the lukewarm performance of 2017’s Justice League, a film that should have been a massive success on the scale of some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest outings. The Flash appears to be adapting the 2011 DC Comics storyline Flashpoint as a result, including its timeline reboot.

The Flash will include the final performance of Ben Affleck as the DCEU’s Batman, with Michael Keaton replacing him in future DCEU films such as Batgirl. Set photos from Batgirl indicate significant changes for the DCEU’s incarnation of the Dark Knight, aside from his recasting, but the post-Flash DCEU more than likely won’t have a particularly strong effect on the Princess of Themyscira for several reasons. Wonder Woman’s films have been self-contained for the most part, and her successful and popular depiction in the DCEU will likely prevent significant changes from occurring in her backstory and characterization.

Although Patty Jenkins collaborated with Zack Snyder to ensure that her Wonder Woman films characterized Diana Prince consistently with her other DCEU appearances, her first two films contain few direct connections the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Assuming that Wonder Woman herself remains unchanged, her third solo movie will likely only connect to the previous two directly, making any post-The Flash DCEU changes largely inconsequential. If Wonder Woman is still a member of the Justice League, a throwaway reference to Batman won’t be affected by the DCEU’s new Michael Keaton version of the Dark Knight.

From a behind-the-scenes perspective, Wonder Woman is one of the DCEU’s most successful superheroes, with Gal Gadot’s iteration of Diana Prince being one of the franchise’s most consistently praised aspects. While Wonder Woman 1984 was met with a mixed reception, this wasn’t due to Gadot’s performance and the first film remains one of the DCEU’s most successful films. With this in mind, the DCEU’s filmmakers will likely want to change Wonder Woman as little as possible to preserve the beloved character even after a continuity reboot.

Set photos from Batgirl indicate that portions of the old DCEU will remain intact, such as the events of Dawn of Justice, though Lex Luthor’s escape from Arkham Asylum in Justice League might have been undone. Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 will most likely be unaffected by The Flash’s continuity reboot, allowing Patty Jenkins to continue their story in her third DCEU film. Wonder Woman 3 will complete Jenkins and Gadot’s trilogy of Wonder Woman films, regardless of the DCEU’s new incarnation following their Flashpoint adaptation.