Patty Jenkins Confirms Wonder Woman 2 Is Set In The ’80s

[Nergal]

 

Patty Jenkins has confirmed that Wonder Woman 2 will be another period piece, this time set in the 1980s. Although most of the DCEU has been set in a chronological order, Wonder Woman has been the rare exception. Though Wonder Woman first appeared in the film franchise during Batman V Superman, the majority of her debut movie was set during World War I, the earliest that any superhero movie story has been set.


There was heavy speculation that Wonder Woman 2 would follow suit, given the ending of Diana’s debut. Wonder Woman has a rather bittersweet ending with Diana mourning the death of Steve Trevor but still resolving to help humanity and be a part of the world. This was at odds with Diana’s story in both BvS and Justice League, where she was re-entering the world after a long absence. It appears that among many other things, Wonder Woman 2 will answer the lingering mystery of Diana’s disappearance.


According to reports out of CinemaCon, Patty Jenkins confirmed Wonder Woman 2’s time period during the Warner Bros. presentation. Yet this isn’t the first time that news of the sequel’s ’80s setting has surfaced. We actually scooped the news of the 1980s setting shortly after Wonder Woman was released in theaters. Now that the detail has been confirmed, it might give a better idea of what Diana’s second cinematic outing will look like, other than the sense of fashion.


In our same report that stated the 1980s as Wonder Woman 2‘s setting, another surprising detail about the sequel was teased. Chris Pine will be among the cast, which is odd for a number of reasons. Pine’s character, Steve Trevor, died at the end of Wonder Woman and unlike Diana, Steve’s not a demi-god and basically immortal. If Steve Trevor had survived there’s no way he’d look like modern-day Chris Pine in the 1980s. He would be at least 90 years old. Although just because Pine is back, doesn’t mean he’s playing Steve Trevor.


Weirdly, there is a precedent for all of this in Wonder Woman‘s live action adaptations. Including an actor who played Steve Trevor returning for no apparently logical reason. The Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter set their first season in World War II. Yet when the second season premiered, the decision was made to do a time jump and make it a present-day series. Wonder Woman wasn’t suddenly set in the 1980s but very close, 1977. Lynda Carter remained with the series as Wonder Woman and so did Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor. Yet in the second season, Waggoner played the son of the original Steve Trevor, Steve Trevor Jr.


It’s highly unlikely that Wonder Woman 2 will follow suit. If Pine does appear in the sequel, it could just be apart of an extended hallucination or dream sequence for Diana. In BvS and Justice League, Diana is still hurting over the death of Steve. It would be totally anticlimactic if he returned from the dead in the sequel and (somehow) died again.


It’s far more likely that Wonder Woman 2 will be a much darker chapter in the Amazonian princess’ story and will deal with the emotional toll of Steve’s death on Diana, rather than having anything to do with Steve in the flesh. The sequel will likely explore how Diana removed herself from the world as she goes up against one of her most famous villains, The Cheetah (played by Kristen Wiig).


The news of a darker Wonder Woman 2 might not be exciting to a lot of fans. One of the reasons that Wonder Woman was so well received was because of its optimism. However, enough faith should be had in Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot and the rest of the team that the movie can still be inspiring and take Diana into the more darker and depressing state of mind her character is in during Batman v Superman.