After a series of delays, Wonder Woman 1984 will finally be hitting the big screen either in November or December. And despite starring the same leading cast, Wonder Woman 1984 is not a sequel to Wonder Woman (2017). Instead, 1984 simply aims to be the next iteration of Wonder Woman as a series. “It’s a completely different time frame, and you’ll get a sense of what Diana-slash-Wonder Woman had been doing in the intervening years. But it’s a completely different story that we’re telling,” shared film producer Charles Roven earlier this year.
Gal Gadot reprises her role as the titular superheroine, while Chris Pine returns as Steve Trevor. Director Patty Jenkins remains at the helm of the project (which is probably why we’re getting a lot of Wonder Woman vibes). We’re also seeing a lot of new names like Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva, one of Wonder Woman’s deadliest villains. Another notable addition is Pedro Pascal as Max Lord who, in the comics, had a very interesting and complicated relationship with Wonder Woman.
Kingdom Come
Speaking of the DC comics, plenty of fans have recognized Wonder Woman’s armor as that from Kingdom Come—a four-issue comic book published in 1996. Its story is set in an alternate universe where there was a massive conflict between the “original” superheroes (such as Superman) and a growing number of anti-heroes.
Instead of the Justice League ushering a new era of heroes, a group of vigilantes ended up stealing the show. And as a consequence, the league disbanded. What follows is a long struggle for the former members of Justice League, who must then grapple with bad publicity, the “killing for the greater good” mindset of these vigilantes, and their mission to resurrect the original “superhero.”
Could this be 1984’s premise? Nothing has been confirmed as of this writing. But it’ll be pretty exciting if it is, and having Wonder Woman be the first featured heroine is a very telling choice on its own. After all, in Kingdom Come, it was by her coaxing that the Justice League was eventually reformed.
Wonder Woman’s Popularity
Wonder Woman has always been an iconic character in the DC comics. But it wasn’t until Gadot’s appearance that she became an iconic screen character. Of course, while the tandem work of Gadot and Jenkins was nothing short of phenomenal, they were not the only contributors to the film’s success.
After years of playing second fiddle to Marvel’s MCU, Warner Bros significantly doubled down on their marketing strategy to boost fan engagement. Before the first movie’s premiere, for instance, they launched an AR tiara on Facebook and Snapchat’s filters, which fans were happy to indulge in. Moreover, we saw Gadot share some “behind-the-scenes” content on Twitter, giving fans an exclusive peek under the curtain like never before.
And let’s not forget how, upon the release of Wonder Woman in theaters, Warner Bros finally unlocked the superheroine’s character in the mobile RPG DC Legends. While the DC Legends RPG is inarguably one of the more popular titles, it’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Wonder Woman games. In fact, gaming platform Foxy Games has many slot titles inspired by the leading lady, including Wonder Woman and Justice League. These games certainly prove that her influence as a pop culture icon cannot be denied — no matter how many times others attempt to downplay her role. Expect Wonder Woman 1984 to reinforce that, and add to the growing legend of DC’s beloved superheroine.
It’s been quite the wait for us, fans, as Wonder Woman 1984 was originally scheduled for release on December 2019. It was moved to June of this year, but had to be rescheduled again twice due to due to pandemic. Now, it is finally upon us, and we’re hoping to see more of the magical lasso-wielding Amazonian princess that won our hearts — not the traditional eye candy that they made her out to be in last year’s Justice League.