Warner Bros brought a lot of cool content to San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, among which included the first Wonder Woman trailer. It provided an excellent first taste of what to expect from Diana of Themyscira's solo movie, from the World War I setting to seeing her wield magic weaponry against enemy soldiers. It's only been three months since that trailer premiered, and we still have eight more months to go until the movie's release, but fans should brace themselves for another preview.
Last week, the next Wonder Woman trailer was classified, meaning it could arrive as soon as later this week with the U.S. release of Doctor Strange or later in November alongside a blockbuster like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Either way, it's coming soon, and we've taken the opportunity to list the five main things we want Warner Bros and DC to show us in the preview.
The Clearly-Identified Main Villain
There were two figures in the first Wonder Woman trailer who were implied to be the movie's primary antagonists, though that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be more evildoers. The first was Elena Anaya's character, a lady wearing an unusual mask covering her nose, mouth and left cheek. Anaya later confirmed that she will be playing a villain, but did not reveal who. The second figure was Danny Huston's character, a man dressed in a military uniform who appeared to be Diana's target at a fancy gala, judging by the way she was reaching for her sword.
While these ambiguous shots were appropriate for the teaser, now's the time that Wonder Woman should make clear who will be the main antagonist of the story will be, if only because neither DC or Warner Bros have officially announced who it is. Previous reports indicated it would be Ares, and he will supposedly be partnered with Circe. Huston seems like a good fit for Ares, but we're skeptical about if Anaya is playing Circe. Regardless, the next trailer needs to clearly show which mystical adversaries Diana will battle in her solo adventure. After all, it's not like she'll be beating up Central Powers soldiers the whole time.
Themyscira's City
The first Wonder Woman preview provided a few decent looks at Themyscira, the secluded island where Diana and the other Amazons live. The first was the shoreline where Steve Trevor washed up, and is later used as a battleground for the Amazons and WWI soldiers. Then there was a brief shot of what looked like an outdoor temple where Queen Hippolyta and other Amazons were gathered around Diana.
That was a good start, but it would be amazing to see what Themyscira's main city looks like during the next trailer. While Themyscira does have ties to ancient Greek culture (more on that on the next page), it's also a society that's been secluded from the outside world for a long time. So just like with the MCU's Asgard, this is a metropolis that will feature unusual architecture, making it feel like it's located on a different world. Yes, longtime comic book fans are quite familiar with Themyscira, but casual viewers need to understand what kind of environment Diana has been living in all these years; hence why she's so astounded by what she sees across war-torn Europe.
Zeus
Wonder Woman has always been tied to the Greek gods, and her solo movie will be no exception. When asked by Steve Trevor if she ever met her father, she stated she hadn't because she had been brought to life by Zeus. This is keeping in line with Diana's New 52 origin, and if Zeus exists in the DC Extended Universe, that means the other Greek gods do, too. While we don't expect to see all of the gods revealed in the Wonder Woman previews, it would be nice to at least see Diana's "daddy."
Of all the main actors whose characters haven't been identified yet, Harry Potter actor David Thewlis seems like the best bet to be playing Zeus in the movie. Whether he actually slept with Hippolyta like in the New 52 or merely breathed life into her using his amazing powers remains to be seen, but you can count on him being an important figure in Wonder Woman. That said, there is one thing we hope isn't spoiled in this trailer or any other previews: Mount Olympus. Don't show what the domain of the gods looks like until the movie itself is released.
Diana's Gladiator Match
Wonder Woman's origin story may not be as well known as Batman or Superman's, but it does have its recurring elements. One of the more frequent ones is how Diana became the woman to escort Steve Trevor back to the outside world. In most re-tellings of her origin, a contest was held to decide who should take Steve back. It was a non-lethal battle among the Amazons, and the last woman standing won the honor. As you can already predict, Diana was victorious, although in some versions of the story, she was forbidden from participating the contest, forcing her to enter disguised.
We're not saying that Wonder Woman will show this contest. It's possible that Hippolyta will do away with the ceremonial battle and merely select Diana because she's the right one for the task. However, if we do see this contest, provide a taste of it in the trailer. Let's see what Amazon combat looks like against one another, giving us a better idea of how they'll fare against the human invaders that will later come to Themyscira.
Batman
By now, most of you know that Wonder Woman will primarily take place in World War I. The story will show what Diana's first time in the outside world was like and why she decided to turn her back on humanity until the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 100 years later. However, it looks like some of the movie will be set in the modern era, judging by set photos that showed Gal Gadot's Diana in what looked like present-day Gotham City next to a Wayne Enterprises truck. It was also rumored beforehand that Batman would cameo near the end of the movie. Keep in mind that a Dark Knight appearance hasn't been confirmed, but it seems likelier than not at this point.
Assuming Batman does appear, this next trailer would be wise to include him, though only for a second or two at most. Wonder Woman already has a lot going for it; great action (from what we've seen so far), an interesting cast, the World War I time period and it being the DCEU's first female-led movie. A sneak peek at Ben Affleck's Batman would get casual moviegoers even more excited for its release. Whether you can't see enough of Batman on the big screen or think he's been overexposed, there's no denying that the Caped Crusader puts butts in seats.
