'At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give,' Patty Jenkins said.
Though it was starting to feel like it will be Wonder Woman 2024 by the time any of us saw Wonder Woman 1984, Warner Bros. has committed to releasing the movie this year -- even if you have to watch from your home.
On Wednesday, the studio announced that WW84 will be released in U.S. theaters on Dec. 25, as planned, but amid a new spike in coronavirus cases, it will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
"THE TIME HAS COME," director Patty Jenkins wrote on social media. "At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else. We love our movie as we love our fans, so we truly hope that our film brings a little bit of joy and reprieve to all of you this holiday season."
"Watch it in theaters, where it is made safe to do so (check out the great work theaters have done to make it so!) and available in the safety of your home on HBOMAX where it is not," she explained. "Happy holidays to all of you. We hope you enjoy our film as much as we enjoyed making it."
Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, echoed Jenkins' statement in her own post, saying, "It wasn't an easy decision and we never thought we'd have to hold onto the release for such a long time but Covid rocked all of our worlds."
"We feel the movie has never been so relevant and we hope that it'll bring some joy, hope and love to your hearts," Gadot added. "Wonder Woman 1984 is a special one for me and I can only hope it'll be as special to you too."
Following the release announcement, Jenkins specified that the film will be available in 4K Ultra HD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. "PLEASE find the biggest and highest quality screen you can!!" she wrote.
Wonder Woman 1984 -- which sees Gadot and Chris Pine reprising their roles from 2017's Wonder Woman opposite Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal -- had previously been set for release on June 5, but amid the coronavirus pandemic, was postponed to Aug. 14 and then to October.
"We made Wonder Woman 1984 for the big screen and I believe in the power of cinema," Jenkins said at the time. "In these terrible times, when theater owners are struggling as so many are, we are excited to re-date our film to Aug. 14, 2020 in a theater near you, and pray for better times for all by then."
Obviously, global events did not play out as planned and during August's DC FanDome, the director reiterated, "I really think the movie is so great on the big screen, but I can't wait for the movie to come out soon."
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