Wonder Woman movie gets replacement female director after Michelle MacLaren pulls out

Patty Jenkins has come on board to helm the DC universe movie

Patti Jenkins will direct the upcoming Wonder Woman movie (Getty Images)

The Wonder Woman movie will be female-led after all.

Warner Bros has found another woman to direct the film following the departure of Michelle MacLaren earlier this week.

Patty Jenkins, who has previously directed Arrested Development, Entourage and the US version of The Killing, has come on board to helm the DC universe film.

She will now become the first female director to helm a mainstream comic book movie in a long time, after MacLaren left the project citing “creative differences”.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (Warner Brothers)

Jenkins was previously on board to direct Thor 2 for rival Marvel Studios, and would have been the first female to direct a Marvel movie should she have been given the role.

It was not known if Warner Bros would continue to look for a female director to replace MacLaren, given the lack of women directors in Hollywood and the prospective gender bias the film studio stood to be accused of.

Warner Bros bold stance on Wonder Woman opens the door for Hollywood evolution

Popular choice Lexi Alexander ruled out directing the project in November for fear of carrying the “f**king weight of gender equality for both characters and women directors”.

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

“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.

Rachel Talalay directed the poorly-received adaptation of Tank Girl in 1995, but very few women directors have adapted superhero and comic books for the big screen since.

The much anticipated adaptation of Wonder Woman will see Fast and Furious actress Gal Gadot play the title role, following her first appearance in character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

As of December, the film had no script or release date, but previous reports have hinted it will debut in June 2017.

Read more: Lexi Alexander says 'no way' to directing Wonder Woman
Michelle MacLaren quits Wonder Woman movie