It’s been a while since Gal Gadot’s Diana of Themyscira was on the big screen, but rather than reunite with her in the present day like in Justice League, we’ll see what she was up to three decades prior to Steppenwolf’s invasion in Wonder Woman 1984. However, just because the sequel’s more colorful than the first Wonder Woman movie doesn’t mean that’s reflective of Diana Prince’s own life in the mid-1980s.
In fact, according to producer Charles Roven, when we meet back up with Diana in Wonder Woman 1984, she’s working at the Natural History Museum in Washington D.C., living a quiet life and mourning what she’s lost. As Roven put it:
She has not only had the loss of [Chris Pine’s] Steve Trevor. She’s lost nearly all the people that are important to her because they’re not immortal, and her life is actually quite lonely and spartan. In fact, the only joy that she gets out of it is when she’s actually doing something for people, if she can help those in need.
Wonder Woman 1984 takes place 66 years after Wonder Woman, which saw Diana leaving Themyscira and venturing into man’s world to the first time to bring an end to World War I. So while that baby she fawned over while she was walking in the streets of London could easily still be alive, allies like Etta Candy, Sameer, Charlie and Chief Napi would be long gone unless they’ve managed to live to nearly 110. Diana, on the other hand, lives on and is just as healthy as she was almost seven decades earlier.
Throw in Diana still getting over the loss of Steve Trevor, who sacrificed himself to destroy Dr. Isabel Maru’s supply of poison, and it makes sense why she’s decided to keep to herself. With her loved ones gone and the prospect of making new friends difficult, Diana focuses on her day job and using her incredible abilities to help others, thus making her personal life rather empty, as Charles Roven laid out to Entertainment Weekly.
However, Diana’s life will change on two fronts once the events of Wonder Woman 1984 get rolling. First, she’ll make a new friend in the form of Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva, a “shy, socially awkward gemologist” who also works at Natural History Museum. Sadly, their friendship will be short-lived since Barbara will follow in her comic book counterpart’s footsteps and become The Cheetah.
Second, as we’ve known for a while, Wonder Woman 1984 also sees the return of Steve Trevor, although mum’s still the word on how Chris Pine’s character is back among the living. The first Wonder Woman 1984 trailer hinted that Maxwell Lord’s machinations could have something to do with that, as his gimmick as an entrepreneur and infomercial tycoon is helping people get what they’ve always wanted, and it seems he now has the mystical means to do so.
Assuming the events of Wonder Woman 1984 can still mostly line up with the continuity from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, we know that Diana Prince will be alright in the long run, especially once she befriends bellow heroes like Batman and Aquaman. Still, her solitary existence at the start of the sequel is a reminder of how immortality can have its downsides.
Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters on June 5, and if you’re curious about what other DC movies are on the way, look through our comprehensive guide.
