The last couple weeks have been most eye-opening regarding Wonder Woman 2, or as we now know it, Wonder Woman 1984. At the start of the month, co-writer Geoff Johns confirmed what year the sequel will be set in, and today saw the release of the first two official images, one of which revealed that Chris Pine will (somehow) be back as Steve Trevor for the upcoming DC movie. Now we have a little extra information concerning Wonder Woman 1984's main villain, Barbara Ann Minerva, a.k.a. The Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig. Supposedly her fall from grace will happen as a result of wanting to be like Diana of Themyscira. As Vulture reporter Kyle Buchanan passed along:
I've heard that Kristen Wiig starts the sequel as Diana's friend, not her foe. She emulates Wonder Woman, then seeks to usurp her
Assuming that Kyle Buchanan's information is correct, then Wonder Woman 1984 is definitely taking a cue from the New 52/Rebirth comic book eras with its adaptation of Cheetah's origin by having her already associated with Diana. While the precise details differ depending on what story you read, in recent years, Barbara Ann Minerva (historically the third individual to hold the Cheetah mantle) is depicted as being Wonder Woman's ally/friend, but during one of her archaeological adventures, she is transformed into Cheetah. That kicked off her conflict with Wonder Woman, although in the Rebirth origin, Barbara holds Diana responsible for her becoming a monstrosity. For Wonder Woman 1984, apparently although Diana and Barbara start out on friendly terms, the latter's pursuits to be like the former ultimate lead to her crossing over to the dark side and becoming a freaky humanoid cheetah creature.
Aside from Diana clashing with Cheetah, no plot details for Wonder Woman 1984 have come out yet. Along with the sequel starring Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig and Chris Pine, Game of Thrones' Pedro Pascal has been added in an undisclosed role. Patty Jenkins has returned to direct the feature, and she co-wrote the script with Geoff Johns and David Callaham. Like her comic book counterpart, Gadot's Wonder Woman is steeped in mythology, so I imagine that rather than make Wiig's Cheetah some kind of metahuman or product of crazy science, she'll remain a mystically-powered villain, possibly still being cursed by the ancient plant god Urzkartaga. That said, since the DCEU public doesn't learn that enhanced individuals exist until after Man of Steel, it will be interesting to see how Wonder Woman and Cheetah's battle is kept on the down low.
Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters on November 1, 2019, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. In the meantime, head over to our DC movies guide to learn what other DCEU projects are in development.
