The DC Extended Universe is hoping to make a huge splash this summer with the return of the Themyscirian Princess Diana Prince. After her first solo movie Wonder Woman turned out to be one of the hits of Summer 2017, as well as one of the very best movies in the entire DCEU according to both fans and critics, the hype is ramping up as the release of Wonder Woman 1984 draws closer.
The DCEU's first ever sequel is set to bring Diana to the semi-modern day with a story set in 1980's, filling in more of her story between her original adventures through World War I and her battles alongside the heroes of the Justice League . After fighting a number of villains like Ares, Doomsday and Steppenwolf, her next solo film will pit her against the mysterious and dangerous Cheetah. Before fans see her first appearance portrayed by former Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig, more news about her has come explaining more of how she will fit into her debut DCEU film.
NEWS
In a recent interview with TotalFilm via SyFy , Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins gave some insight into the relationship between Gal Gadot's Diana Prince and Kristen Wiig's Barbara Minerva/Cheetah. The two are said to meet in the Smithsonian museum and immediately start bonding over "geology, gemology, lithology, and part-time [cryptozoology]." That last part is something that may help to influence Cheetah's sometimes supernatural powers. Jenkins goes on to explain more about their transition from friends to foes:
What I love about it is they genuinely start out as friends. And hopefully you'll agree that the evolution into being foes tracks kind of organically. It's like a friendship gone wrong -- as two people go on different journeys in life.
Kristen Wiig gave two separate quotes teasing the cinematic debut of Cheetah. While she doesn't start off as a carbon copy of the villain from the comics, Wiig gave this quote to shine some light on her character's evolvement:
There's a whole different version of Cheetah that you'll see in the movie.
When asked if fans of the movie were in for a full-blown, all-out supervillain transformation, all Wiig gave was this:
To be continued!
WHAT THIS MEANS
Kristen Wiig's Cheetah has been one of the most highly discussed upcoming comic book-movie villains of the near future, which doesn't come as a surprise considering her visually stunning nature and her supernatural origins. Although the details of her villainous turn in the film are still being kept under wraps, Barbara Minerva in the comics is imbued with the appearance and abilities of a cheetah thanks to the goddess Urzkartaga. Her physical prowess should prove to be quite the match for the Amazonian princess through the course of the upcoming film.
The interesting part of Diana's relationship with Cheetah seems to be how close they become after meeting each other at the Smithsonian Museum (making its DCEU debut after housing the Captain America exhibit in the MCU's Captain America: The Winter Soldier ). Bonding over their scholarly intellect in what seems like an instant, it should make for an exciting turn in the film's plot when fans finally see the event that ends up turning the two against each other.
Behind the scenes, Wiig has already seemingly mastered the art of not giving away any spoilers for her upcoming blockbuster. While anybody in the film industry hopes to keep the plot of their upcoming project under wraps, comic book movies in particular have a knack for bringing some of the most climactic moments in the industry, and their fans will do literally anything to learn what happens before these films ultimately debut.
Wonder Woman 1984 has completed post-production in preparation for worldwide release on October 2, 2020.
