Chris Pine ‘stunned’ Warner Bros killed his ‘billion-dollar franchise’

Hollywood actor Chris Pine has finally addressed his “billion-dollar” franchise being killed ahead of a third film.

Chris Pine has reacted after the Wonder Woman franchise was killed off.

The Wonder Woman film franchise may have netted almost a billion dollars in the box office for Warner Bros. and DC, but that was just not enough for the studio to green light a third instalment.

US actor Chris Pine, who played the love interest to Gal Gadot’s striking Wonder Woman in the first two films, addressed the decision while chatting withBusiness Insider.

Though his character has already been killed off (and later resurrected in the 2020 sequel Wonder Woman 1984), Pine confessed that he was shocked to learn there wouldn’t be a third film in the superhero series in late 2022.

“I’m stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere,” Pine said.

“I don’t know what the reasoning was behind that; it’s above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character; Patty [Jenkins] is such a thoughtful director.”

Chris Pine has reacted after the Wonder Woman franchise was axed ahead of a planned third film. Picture: Drew Angerer/AFP

Jenkins’ 2017 DC debut with Wonder Woman netted an impressive $US822 million at the box office.

But the sequel severely underperformed with just $US169 million earned internationally against its production budget of $US200 million.

Variety reports that Jenkins was developing Wonder Woman 3 when former Marvel writer/director James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios as co-CEOs with new plans for its slate of iconic superhero characters.

Much like Henry Cavill’s Superman, Gadot’s Wonder Woman was not part of their vision for the future of DC.

Pine starred opposite Gal Gadot in the first two Wonder Woman films.

Pine acknowledged that even if a Wonder Woman 3 were made, his character would not be back for it. “It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back,” he said after noting that his character was certainly “dead”.

“I had no interest in playing the boyfriend, and it sounded like second fiddle,” Pine said of his character.

“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 s**t up.”

The Wonder Woman sequel bombed at the global box office.

Jenkins publicly exited the project shortly after Gunn and Safran began leading the company, causing speculation about their leadership.

But she later shut down the rumours.

“I never walked away,” Jenkins shared in a post on X, then known as Twitter. “I was open to considering anything asked of me. It was my understanding there was nothing I could do to move anything forward at this time. DC is obviously buried in changes they are having to make, so I understand these decisions are difficult right now.”

The studio’s first phase of new content will instead feature younger versions of Superman and Supergirl, which will be played by David Corenswet and House of the Dragon star Millie Alcock, respectively.

Production is already happening for Gunn’s Superman, which is set to premiere in cinemas July 2025.

This story originally appeared on Decider and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Chris Pine ‘stunned’ Warner Bros killed his ‘billion-dollar franchise’