Wonder Woman 1984 is on the horizon and is set to take place in a completely different era than the World War I setting of its 2017 predecessor. However, Patty Jenkins, who directed both movies, recently revealed that one element of the sequel was actually originally considered to be part of the first film.
NEWS
In an interview with Jenkins conducted by Heroic Hollywood on the Wonder Woman 1984 set back in 2018, the director revealed that classic Wonder Woman comics villain Cheetah - played by Kristen Wiig in WW84 - was originally planned to be included in the first Wonder Woman movie.
“You know, what I wanted this movie to be about was pretty clear fairly early on. It’s one of those things where I found myself saying there was something about what the world wants to talk about right now, and she happens to have this lasso of truth, and truth ends up figuring in very large. And so yeah, it all started coming together then, and then the different plot things, and Cheetah, and knowing we wanted Cheetah – I think we even talked about wanting Cheetah to show up in the beginning of the last movie cause we were going to even plant her in the first one. It was kind of forming up for a long time.”
She also elaborated on the reason why she wanted to depict Cheetah onscreen.
“You know, not unlike, I think, when I did Wonder Woman in the first place, I was kind of looking at the core… like, emotion of what it is. And I feel like Cheetah is the same where there have been many physical manifestations of Cheetah, but but the core has always been the same, which is someone who wishes they could be like these other superheroes and gods, and that already is kind of emotion run amuck; that’s already a little dangerous because what are they wishing for? Not necessarily to save the world. So I think that all stays very much in tune with the core. And what it looks like, yea I mean it’s gotta be its own new chapter of badass, you know? And so it’s more influenced by horror I guess than a silly hero, you know, than being silly. It’s not that silly.”
WHAT THIS MEANS
With the exploration of different emotions being a prominent idea behind her Wonder Woman movies, it definitely makes sense why Jenkins sought to find a way to incorporate Cheetah into the mix somehow. But while it would have been an interesting juxtaposition to see the character in an early 20th century setting, it may not have been the best fit aesthetically or thematically; this villain seems like a much more natural fit with Wonder Woman 1984 's focus on the themes of materialism and desire (as presented in the trailer) than the first movie's of what one fights for and why.
Wonder Woman 1984 is currently set for an October 2 theatrical release in North America.
