Chris Pine is 'stunned' the 'Wonder Woman' franchise is over

Chris Pine can't believe the current franchise of "Wonder Woman" has been scrapped, but admits he wouldn't have returned anyway.

• Chris Pine told Business Insider he's "stunned" Warner Bros. ended the current "Wonder Woman" franchise.
• New DC Comics heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are completely overhauling its theatrical extended universe.
• Pine told BI he had no intention of being involved in a potential third "Wonder Woman" movie.

It's been four years since the last "Wonder Woman" movie debuted in theaters, and Chris Pine still can't believe the successful franchise has ended.

In the movies, Pine played American spy Steve Trevor, the love interest of Gal Gadot's Diana Prince/Wonder Woman character. In 2017's "Wonder Woman," directed by Patty Jenkins, Trevor teams up with Prince to fight with the Allies in World War I, and eventually, the two fall in love.

Though Trevor died at the movie's end, he returned in "Wonder Woman 1984" three years later when Prince accidentally wished him back to reality.

A third "Wonder Woman" movie was in the works throughout the pandemic with Jenkins saying she wanted it to be set in the present day. Despite the franchise once being the highest-earning movie in the DC Comics Extended Universe, it was scrapped when Warner Bros. overhauled its DC Comics universe in 2022 by hiring "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as co-CEOs of DC Studios.

"I'm stunned that they said no to a billion-dollar franchise and decided to pivot elsewhere," Pine told Business Insider while he was promoting his upcoming movie and directorial debut, "Poolman," out Friday. "I don't know what the reasoning was behind that; it's above my pay grade, but Wonder Woman is an incredible character; Patty is such a thoughtful director."

When asked if he felt any unfinished business not getting to do a third movie, Pine made it clear that he wouldn't have been involved if a third movie had gone forward.

"Me. No. Homie is dead. Steve is gonzo," Pine said. "It would be ridiculous to try to bring me back."

In fact, Pine said originally he passed on playing Steve Trevor twice before meeting Jenkins, who finally convinced him.

"I had no interest in playing the boyfriend, and it sounded like second fiddle," Pine said. "Then, in talking to Patty, the way she described it was, 'Forget the superhero of it all, this is a romance, this is 'Casablanca,' that's the movie I want to make.' I was like, oh, now that is very cool because when have you seen a superhero film that was a love story, ultimately? That had nothing to do with blowing shit up."

The rest is history, as the first "Wonder Woman" movie became a sensation. Little girls showed up to theaters dressed as the iconic superhero, and Pine received rave reviews for his performance, elevating his stardom.