For what should be obvious reasons, director Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman is largely separated from the rest of the DC Extended Universe films that we have seen so far. While Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad are all set in present day, the action of the Amazonian film will transport audiences back a full century to the time of World War I. That being said, that blockbuster will still have a significant tie to the rest of the franchise, as the catalyst for the story will be the titular heroine receiving a package in the mail from Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman.
I learned this cool tidbit early last year when I joined a small group of journalists to fly out to London and visit the set of Wonder Woman while it was still in production. While most of our day was spent interviewing cast and filmmakers and touring sets, it started out with a presentation from Project Liaison Anna Obropta, who took us through pieces of production art and the plot elements of the movie. Describing the opening of the story, she noted that it starts after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) living in Paris and receiving a mysterious package. Said Obropta,
She's working at the Louvre and she's working in antiquities and she receives a package, a crate from Wayne Enterprises. Throughout Batman v Superman, she's been chasing down this glass plate photograph of herself, we find out, and of a team of men surrounding her, this old photograph, maybe 100 years old. She's been trying to get her hands on it in Batman v Superman, but it's in Lex Luthor's possession, so she never really gets it. And then at the beginning of Wonder Woman she receives this crate, opens it up and it's this glass plate photograph that she was chasing, compliments of Bruce Wayne... with a little note that says, 'This photograph isn't just yours. It is you. I hope you tell me your story someday.'
Seeing this photograph -- which includes Wonder Woman alongside WWI compatriots Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), Charlie (Ewen Bremner), Chief (Eugene Brave Rock) and Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui) -- triggers the titular heroine's memory and kick-starts the narrative that continues for the following two hours or so.
Those who saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are already familiar with the photograph in question here. Batman first meets Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe because they are both trying to steal the same set of files from Lex Luthor -- one of which is a digital version of the picture. With Lex locked up at the end of the 2016 film, it seems that Bruce Wayne used some of his time to go through the genius' personal effects and return a very special piece of personal property.
Whether or not Batman or Bruce Wayne will actually show up in Wonder Woman is a big question mark... but if we had to put money on it, we'd bet it's going to happen. After all, we already know the two characters are going to reunite later this year in Justice League, so it only makes sense that the DC Extended Universe would tease that reunion with a special cameo at the end of the June blockbuster. Of course, this is only an educated guess, and we have a few more months to wait until we have a real answer.
Wonder Woman is scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 2nd, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from our time visiting the set!
