Everything to Know About Wonder Woman 1984 Before the December Release
'Wonder Woman 2' Kristen Wiig Confirmed to Play Villain Cheetah
The Ghostbusters star was just cast as the lead villain in the Wonder Woman sequel and will transform into a formidable opponent to Gal Gadot’s badass character.
Soon, Gal Gadot will reprise her role as Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 1984 (the second installment in the action series), but with an entirely new look. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the sequel takes place firmly in the '80s, and everything from the wardrobe to the soundtrack will transport you back to the decade of greed.
When humanity's obsession with wealth, glamour, and the illusion of the American dream is at its peak, Diana makes good on her promise to save the world once again — this time from new nemeses: Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), a co-worker of Wonder Woman's at the Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. whose quest for power grows out of control, and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), a sleazy businessman selling consumers on the idea that they can have it all. Along the way, she reunites with her long-lost love, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), acquires a suit of golden armor and engages in a full-on battle in the middle of a mall.
For everything we know about Wonder Woman 1984 so far, scroll below.
It's coming to theaters in December.
After being pushed back twice due to the coronavirus pandemic, the movie — which was originally slated for June 5, and then rescheduled for Oct. 2 — officially landed on a Christmas Day release date, according to Deadline.
Wonder Woman's uniform got a major upgrade.
Earlier this year, Gadot shared a photo of Wonder Woman rocking a completely new uniform for battle: golden armor complete with a helmet resembling the head of an eagle and metallic wings. “It’s an epic suit of armor from the comic books,” Jenkins told Refinery29, saying that it serves a special purpose. “There are reasons why she needs different armors at different times.”
Steve Trevor makes an unexpected comeback.
When the trailer first dropped, fans were surprised to see Steve Trevor (Pine) magically appear on the screen — in a tracksuit and a fanny pack, no less. Trevor died (or at least appeared to) in a plane explosion at the climax of 2017's Wonder Woman, so how he fits into this new narrative remains unknown. However, Jenkins assured viewers his return is "not a gimmick."
“I can’t tell you [how he’s back], but here’s what I will say: We didn’t put Steve Trevor in this movie because we just wanted to put Steve Trevor in this movie,” she said at CCXP in 2019, according to Collider. “When we thought of the story for this film while we were making the first film, a eureka moment came and it couldn’t have been told without Chris Pine playing Steve Trevor. So I promise you it’s not a gimmick, it’s integral to the story.”
There are two new villains.
Diana Prince faces not just one, but two antagonists in the sequel. First, there's her co-worker and friend Barbara Minerva (Wiig), who transforms into Cheetah — Wonder Woman's famous enemy from the DC Comics — after her hunger for power goes unchecked. “You’ve always had everything while people like me have had nothing,” Wiig’s character says to Diana in the trailer. “Well, now it’s my turn. Get used to it.”
Next up, is Maxwell Lord (Pascal). Rather than a supernatural being, Max is an ordinary human, but a fraudulent one. He's the CEO of a company called Black Gold International, which takes advantage of people's greed for profit.
"Max is a dream-seller. It’s this character who encompasses a component of the era which is, you know, ‘Get whatever want, however you can. You’re entitled to it!’ And at any cost, ultimately, which represents a huge part of our culture and this kind of unabashed — it’s greed. It’s f—ing greed, of course. But it’s also about ‘How do you be your best self? How do you win?’" Pascal said of his character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "So he’s definitely the face of that version of success."
But the real enemy is commercialism.
Yes, there's Cheetah and Maxwell Lord, but at the root of their evil is greed and a desire for wealth and power.
“In 1984, America was at the peak of its power and its pride,” associate producer Anna Obropta explained to EW. “Apple computers and parachute pants, wealth, commercialism, glamour, even violence — everything was larger than life. It was a decade of greed and desire, a time of ‘Me, me, more more more.’” Therefore, the real threat to humanity in this film is actually an intangible force.