One of the highest profile cases in the continuing uncovering of sexual abuse in Hollywood has been filmmaker and mega-producer Brett Ratner, who was the subject of an extensive LA Times report that included detailed claims from women alleging a pattern of abusive behaviour going back decades. Ratner and his home studio Warner Bros subsequently parted ways, but that doesn’t mean he won’t make money from their movies. His production company RatPac-Dune co-produces the DC superhero movies, which of course includes Wonder Woman, and as such would stand to make a lot from a sequel to this year’s hit.
A Page Six report on Friday claims that Gal Gadot is not having any of this, and is “refusing to sign for a superhero sequel unless the movie-maker is completely killed from the franchise.” As per their “insider”, “Brett made a lot of money from the success of Wonder Woman, thanks to his company having helped finance the first movie. Now Gadot is saying she won’t sign for the sequel unless Warner Bros. buys Brett out [of his financing deal] and gets rid of him…She’s tough and stands by her principles. She also knows the best way to hit people like Brett Ratner is in the wallet. She also knows that Warner Bros. has to side with her on this issue as it develops. They can’t have a movie rooted in women’s empowerment being part-financed by a man accused of sexual misconduct against women.”
At this point it’s worth noting that this has not been confirmed by Gadot or Warner Bros; in fact the studio’s statement is “False.” However, the story has certainly picked up traction over the weekend and, even if it’s not 100% true, the studio must be feeling some pressure at this point to go beyond cutting ties and to ensure that he no longer profits off these films as attention is drawn to this issue. RatPac-Dune are involved in several upcoming blockbusters beyond the DC movies, including Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, Ready Player One and Andy Serkis’ Jungle Book, but Warner Bros won’t renew their contract with the company beyond 2018.
Meanwhile, people are still coming forward to discuss Ratner’s awful behaviour, such as Ellen Page, who detailed her experiences with him on X-Men: The Last Stand in a Facebook post (which co-star Anna Paquin corroborated).
Wonder Woman 2 will be released on 13 December 2019.
