According to multiple sources close to the project, the director’s vision for the movie was vastly different from the studio ‘s view. The director envisioned the DC Comics-based “Wonder Woman” superhero movie as a epic origin tale in the vein of “Braveheart,” whereas Warner wanted a more character-driven story that was less heavy on action.
Warner executives, these people said, became increasingly concerned about MacLaren directing a large scale action-packed production when her experience was limited to the small screen, where she’s made her name directing episodes of “Game of Thrones,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.”
The studio is expected to stick with a more character-driven movie would Jenkins become attached. Also an experienced TV director, she cut her teeth on the small-scale indie feature “Monster.”
MacLaren was also unaccustomed to the laborious development process associated with making movies. One person described that process as “tortuous” when it came to the pre-production of “Wonder Woman.” After Jason Fuchs delivered his script, the studio put as many as five other writers on the project to work up various scripts while studio executives simultaneously tested story concepts. “They didn’t like MacLaran’s test,” said one studio executive. (MacLaren’s rep declined comment).
One of the reasons that Warners acted so quickly in picking a replacement for MacLaren was to make sure the studio stayed on track for the film’s planned fall start date and 2017 release.
The studio will now look to get Jenkins up to speed quickly and is already preparing to find the male lead and love interest for “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot. Test offers for a handful of actors are expected in the next week.