Patty Jenkins to direct 'Wonder Woman' 2019 sequel: reports

[September 12, 2017]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Patty Jenkins will return to direct the 2019 sequel to this year's hit superhero movie "Wonder Woman," film trade publications said on Monday, after she became the highest-grossing female director in Hollywood history.

Jenkins, 46, will once again direct Israeli actress Gal Gadot as the titular superhero in "Wonder Woman 2," scheduled for release on Dec. 13, 2019, publications including Variety and Hollywood Reporter said.

Movie studio Warner Bros did not comment on the news and has not given any further details on the sequel.

"Wonder Woman," was the first standalone movie to star a female superhero since 2005's box office dud "Elektra," and the first to be directed by a woman.

It rode to the top of the box office in June on a wave of good reviews and female empowerment, and with $816.4 million at the worldwide box office, it is now the second-biggest movie of the year after the live action version of "Beauty and the Beast."

Jenkins overtook Phyllida Lloyd, who directed 2008's musical "Mamma Mia!," for the title of highest-grossing female director.

Gadot's Wonder Woman will next be seen in November's superhero ensemble movie "Justice League," alongside Ben Affleck's Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman.

"Wonder Woman," the fourth film in Warner Bros' current iteration of DC Comics' cinematic franchise, helped boost profits for Warner Bros' parent company Time Warner Inc.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Sandra Maler)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.