Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins expressed concern about the future of cinema in the aftermath of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In an interview with Reuters, Jenkins stated that the shuttering of theaters "will not be a reversible process." She continued, "We could lose movie theater-going forever." She then expressed that she was wary of streaming as an option for big-budget action films, "It could be the kind of thing that happened to the music industry, where you could crumble the entire industry by making it something that can't be profitable." Jenkins added, "I don't think any of us want to live in a world where the only option is to take your kids to watch a movie in your own living room, and not have a place to go for a date."

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Wonder Woman 1984 is set for a Christmas Day 2020 release -- a full year after its initial date, which was changed several times. "I really hope that we are able to be one of the very first ones to come back and bring that into everyone's life," Jenkins said.

Because COVID-19 restrictions continue to keep theaters closed in different regions, studios have released some films on video instead, on a case-by-case basis. One of the earliest was NBCUniversal, which released Trolls World Tour straight to video in April. The move was criticized by the National Association of Theater Owners and led AMC Theatres to temporarily ban Universal films, until they reached a new agreement on the window between theatrical release and VOD release. However, Jenkins revealed that Warner Bros. is not currently planning a video-on-demand release for the Wonder Woman sequel.

Certain blockbusters have been indicative of the current state of cinema. Warner Bros. released Tenet domestically in September, even with more than 30 percent of U.S. theaters still closed. The Christopher Nolan-directed film hit $280 million in international grosses, but only $41 million domestically over four weeks.

Studios are holding back other tentpole films for several months, with cascading consequences for theaters. The next James Bond film, No Time to Die, moved its release date from Thanksgiving weekend to April 2021, prompting Cineworld, parent company of Regal Cinemas, to announce this week it will temporarily shutter all of its locations in the United States and in the United Kingdom on Oct. 8, citing continued closings of theaters in New York and other large markets, and little guidance from the states on when they may resume. AMC Theatres, however, pledged to keep its locations open.

KEEP READING: Wonder Woman 1984: A Brief History of the Sequel's MANY Release Delays

Source: Reuters, via Variety