While Marvel has gone from strength to strength when bringing their backlog of superheroic characters to life on the large screen, DC has been less than successful. While the recent Shazam and Joker movies received positive critical responses, other attempts to bring their characters to the screen have been less than successful, with Batman Vs Superman and Justice League being particularly disappointing.
However, 2017's Wonder Woman broke the trend of misfiring DC comic book adaptations, and it grossed over $821 million at the worldwide box office. It was the tenth-highest grossing film of the year, which was of little surprise, as the film was astonishingly good, featuring both plenty of decent superheroic action, and a strong character narrative. For some, it is one of the best superhero films ever made, and it is certainly one of the best movies within the DC universe.
A sequel is on its way this year, so with our lasso of truth, we have made every effort to bring you every upcoming fact about the new Wonder Woman movie.
The Movie Has Been Lined Up For An August Release
Originally scheduled for June of this year, the film has been pushed back to August. Wonder Woman 1984 should hit our screens on the 12th of that month, so we don't have too long to wait. Check out an extended trailer for the movie below.
Patty Jenkins Will Be Directing
Acclaimed director Patty Jenkins was behind the first movie iteration of the female comic book character, so it is good to see her returning to directing duties for the new movie. Before Wonder Woman, she was largely known for her work on the serial killer movie Monster and television show The Killing, so the fact that she was brought on to helm a blockbuster movie was a surprise. It wasn't the first time she had been asked to direct a superhero movie, however. She came close to directing Thor: The Dark World, but after seeing how that movie turned out, she perhaps did the right thing by stepping away from it. Thankfully, she more than proved her blockbuster credentials with 2017's Wonder Woman movie, so audiences should be glad that she will be directing the sequel.
Gal Gadot Will Be Reprising The Role Of Wonder Woman
The Israeli-born actress successfully brought Wonder Woman to life in the original movie and proved to be the best part of the cinematic flops that were Batman Vs Superman and Justice League. She will be returning as the Amazonian Goddess in the movie sequel, which will be good news for fans of the actress. Previously known her performances in the Fast and the Furious movies and the Israeli television series Asfur, Gadot proved to be a worthy choice for the role of Wonder Woman, bringing the right amount of action and character gravitas to the part.
Wonder Woman 1984 won't be the last time we will see Gadot take on the role of the character. Not only will we see her in the long-awaited Zack Snyder cut of the Justice League movie, but she has apparently signed up to return to the character again for future sequels or spinoff movies, so we have much to look forward to in the future.
Chris Pine Will Be Returning as Steve Trevor
Quite how Chris Pine will return as Steve Trevor, we don't know. Seemingly killed off in the last movie, his return seemed unlikely, to say the least, but as you can see in the movie's trailer, he will be back in the sequel. There are a number of fan theories doing the rounds, including the speculation that Nazi scientists resurrected Steve's body after the events of the previous film, but fans will have to wait until the movie's release to get a definitive answer.
Cheetah And Maxwell Lord Will Be The Movie's Villains
Previously known for her comedic roles, it was something of a surprise when it was announced that Kristen Wiig would be starring as supervillain, Cheetah. The character has appeared in many DC comic books and animated television series, but this is the first time we will see the cat-like adversary battle Wonder Woman on the large screen. While there have been various incarnations of the character within the DC universe, the Cheetah we will be seeing on the screen will be the alter ego of British Archaeologist, Barbara Minerva. Obsessed with Greek mythology, Minerva invoked the cat god Urzkartaga in the 1987 story featured in Wonder Woman: Rebirth #7 and transformed into a superhuman feline form.
As discussed in an article at ew.com, director Jenkins said of the character: “In the lore, Cheetah is often someone who’s friends with Diana but jealous of her. And I feel like Kristen’s playing a character who’s both ends of the spectrum — she’s your warm, funny friend who’s kind and interesting and then can transform into something completely different."
Cheetah won't be the only supervillain in the movie. Pedro Pascal will also be starring as evil businessman, Maxwell Lord, a character that will be familiar to fans of the Smallville and Supergirl television series. In the comic books, he was known for his attempts to thwart the Justice League, who he believed was a threat to humanity. He had mind control abilities too, which he famously used to manipulate Superman into attacking Wonder Woman. Whether Wonder Woman metes out the same justice to the character that she brought to the villain in the comic books remains to be seen (we are giving away no spoilers here), but his inclusion into the film is certainly an intriguing one.
Here's What Else We Know
Lots of details about the movie are still under wraps, but we do know that the movie will (as befits the title) be set in 1984. This means the film will be set before the events of Batman Vs Superman and Justice League, and decades after the First World War events of the first movie. Set at the height of the Cold War, we might get to see Wonder Woman fight an evil Russian plot to overthrow humanity, but as she will have her hands full contending with Maxwell Lord and Cheetah, this might be unlikely.
Hans Zimmer will again be providing the soundtrack, so expect 80s-styled synthesized notes over the movie's theme. And talking of the 80s, expect to see movie, fashion, and music-references galore, and perhaps even an attempt by Wonder Woman's alter-ego, Diana Prince, to fight against gender inequality in the sexist 80s workplace.
Other than those tidbits of information, we don't know much else. Will she meet younger versions of other members of the DC universe? Will she finally do the Linda Carter spinning twirl that saw Diana Prince become Wonder Woman in the television series? We don't know, but what we do know is this: Wonder Woman will be back on our screens this summer, and from what we have seen so far in the movie's trailers, her return will be a more than welcome one.