Initially announced as director of the film back in November 2014, MacLaren earned the studio’s attention for her Emmy-winning work on the aforementioned AMC series, as well as her work on other hit series including HBO’s Game of Thrones. Wonder Woman was to be her feature-film directorial debut after a long career in television.
In a statement released by Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio indicated that “Warner Bros. and Michelle MacLaren have decided not to move forward with plans to develop and direct Wonder Woman together.”
There’s no official word on what sort of creative differences led to MacLaren’s departure, but the film is still expected to hit theaters June 23, 2017. Fast & Furious 6 actress Gal Gadot (pictured) remains attached to play the title role, and she’s expected to make her debut as Wonder Woman in the upcoming Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, then returning after her solo film for Justice League – Part One in November 2017.
Given that MacLaren was also credited as a co-writer on Wonder Woman, it will be interesting to see how much of her contribution to the film makes it to the final draft of the script. MacLaren most recently served as a director on an episode of Better Call Saul, the spinoff series based on Breaking Bad.
With Wonder Woman still slated to hit theaters in 2017, production will need to get underway soon on the film, so there’s likely to be an announcement regarding a new director in the near future. Back when MacLaren was announced as the film’s director, it was reported that The Babadook director Jennifer Kent and Homeland director Lesli Linka Glatter were also on the studio’s shortlist of potential filmmakers for the project.
