Wonder Woman director Michelle MacLaren quits, crushing hopes for female-led movie

MacLaren parted ways with Warner Bros over 'creative differences'

Michelle MacLaren has parted ways with Warner Bros on Wonder Woman (Getty Images)

Warner Bros may have their leading lady for Wonder Woman, but the movie has now found itself lacking a director.

Michelle MacLaren quit the film over “creative differences” with the studio (yes that old chestnut), it announced in a statement yesterday.

MacLaren, known for Breaking Bad, The X Files and many more hit TV shows, signed on to direct Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman last November.

First picture of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (Warner Brothers)

She was set to be the first female director of a mainstream comic book movie in a long time – Patty Jenkins came close to director Thor: The Dark World but left to be replaced by Alan Taylor.

As of December, there was no script or release date, but previous reports have hinted that it may debut in June 2017, providing it can find a new director.

It remains unknown whether another woman will step up to the challenge, after popular choice Lexi Alexander ruled out the project for fear of carrying “the f**king weight of gender equality for both characters and women directors”.

“How many male superhero movies fail? So now, we finally get Wonder Woman with a female director – imagine if it fails?” she told Fast Company.

“You have no control over marketing, over budget. There is huge pressure. If [a female director] does fail, then all of a sudden it’s ‘all women suck at directing’.”

Very few women directors have adapted superhero and comic book characters for film. Rachel Talalay directed the poorly-received Tank Girl adaptation in 1995.

Gadot will debut her iconic role as the heroine in next year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, due for UK release on 25 March 2016.