Wonder Woman 1984 not only continue Diana’s story but also rounds up Zack Snyder’s vision of DCEU
Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 1984 is on fire! With initial successful box-office numbers (what they can be due to the pandemic) Warner Bros didn’t waste time in announcing the final chapter of the trilogy with Patty Jenkins returning to direct. Previously, Jenkins-Gadot combination saved the DCEU on box-office after a series of failures. While the JL blunder happened because Zack Snyder stepped down and Joss Whedon filled in – the movie characters heavily suffering due to the Frankenstein’s monster treatment. The plots were cut, tones changed and haywire character arches, all further contributed to the Justice League disaster.
Nonetheless, Snyder served as the executive director for both Wonder Woman (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2021). Snyder’s contribution to WW movies helped Jenkins to save Diana’s story arch.
Gadot’s casting as Wonder Woman was done by Snyder back in the day when WB assigned him a larger vision of their cinematic universe dubbed, DC Extended Universe (DCEU). For the uninitiated Man of Steel, Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Suicide Squad, Aquaman, Flash, Wonder Woman – all falls under DCEU. Wherein as per DC’s new business model along with DCEU it aims to have another universe, DC Film multiverse. Standalone titles like Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, Robert Pattinson’s The Batman will be the part of latter. The DC multiverse is already making a lot of noise among fans since the Snyder Cut has been announced for HBO Max.
Wonder Woman’s DCEU Timeline
DCEU kickstarted with Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel in 2013. Next came Ben Affleck’s debut as the caped crusader in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. The 2016 release much like its predecessor MoS, garnered negative reviews and divided fan reactions. The movie’s climactic battle also sees Wonder Woman helping Batman marking her first appearance in the DCEU. The universe was constantly compared with Marvel Studios’ MCU in terms of its tonality, character developments and interconnectedness.
Watch: The DCEU Timeline in Chronological Order
Furthermore, 2016 Suicide Squad, with an ensemble cast (and Joker!) failed to impress. Fans were baffled and critics strict, it later came to light that director David Ayer’s vision and the movie was compromised by WB executives. In a bid to find a ‘fan-pleasing’ universe Suicide Squad became a blow in WB’s face. All the while angering the fans with the treatment of their favourite superheroes and stars on the big screen. But 2017 Wonder Woman was able to sway many of them back to WB’s side.
The movie starring Gadot, written by Snyder, Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, and helmed by Jenkins was an overnight success. It grossed $821 million worldwide and introduced the first-ever female superhero on-screen.
Jenkins set the movie during World War I era nonetheless, it starts with Batman (Affleck) sending an old image to Diana (Gadot) of her maiden adventure with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). WW introduced us not only to Steve and Diana but also to amazing Amazonian warriors who were the first in line to face Steppenwolf in 2017 Justice League.
However, when JL turned into a box-office nightmare Warner Bros decided to keep the idea of ‘interconnected universe’ on the back burner and treated following movie titles individually.
Wonder Woman 1984‘s DCEU Connect
Wonder Woman 2 was announced right after the success of the first in 2017. Jenkins returned not only to direct but write as well. Along with Gadot and Pine cast of WW 84 adds Pedro Pascal (Maxwell Lord) and Kristen Wiig (Cheetah) as antagonists. Jenkins found an easy solution in ‘period genre’ to bypass the continuity issues while scripting.
As the name suggests, movie set in the edgy 80s and Jenkins has left no stone unturned in paying homage to the golden age of superheroes. From the sets, costumes, tonality to invisible jets and even Lynda Carter – Jenkins and Gadot created a magical period piece.
As far DCEU continuity goes keeping in mind Wonder Woman 1984, Kal-El landed-on Earth on June 18, 1980, meaning Cavill’s Superman would have been a four-year-old at the time. Given in MoS Kal-El began to manifest his powers by the age of 9, he’d be a pretty normal kid in 1984. Furthermore, assuming Affleck’s Batman was in his early 40 when he debuts in BvS some fans have calculated Bruce Wayne was born between 1972-74. Given his parents Bruce and Marth Wayne were killed in 1981, Bruce would be a pre-teen, struggling with their loss. Apart from these two, rest of the DCEU heroes were born after 1984. Gadot will be next seen as Wonder Woman in long-due Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Diana’s Character Arch In Snyder Cut
After the failure of theatrical cut of the Justice League practically dismantled the DCEU fans started a movement. Dubbed The Snyder Cut movement, fans widely demanded to bring Snyder’s original vision to life for about three years. In a historical gesture Warner Bros actually heeded to fans’ demands and announced a four-part series, Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
The series is set to debut on WB’s ambitious streaming platform HBO Max in March 2021. While fans have seen Cavill and Affleck last in BvS, Gadot’s Wonder Woman adventure will be quite fresh on their mind. Diana has come a long way in the past three years.
Snyder had meant us to see a Diana who has lost touch with humanity after Steve Trevor’s death in her maiden adventure. In 2021, Diana we know has lost Steve twice and got a closure as well this time around. There’s an upgrade in her power set with all that flying and ability to turn things invisible. Wouldn’t it be odd to see Wonder Woman fighting on ground while we have seen her taking a flight already?
Snyder and Jenkins are working closely to streamline Diana’s character for the HBO Max series. Recently, on ReelBlend Podcast, Jenkins spoke about working with Snyder to maintain Diana’s character arch through Wonder Woman and upcoming Justice League. Knowing where Diana would “sort of end up” by the end of the Snyder Cut allowed her to pick up the character in WW 84 most organically. Furthermore, Gal Gadot along with others from JL cast participated in extensive additional photography for the Snyder Cut.
Wonder Woman 3
And then we have the final instalment of the originally planned Wonder Woman trilogy. Warner Bros recently announced part 3 is in works with Jenkins returning to write and direct and Gadot in the titular role. The movie will be set in contemporary times befitting Wonder Woman’s arch. As WB officials confirm Snyder Cut will be a dead-end for his DCEU vision looks like Wonder Woman 1984 rounded off the storytelling well.
