Wonder Woman is one of the most badass and popular female superheroes in the DC universe. She is the Princess Diana of island of Themyscira, an Amazonian Goddess who was bestowed with superhuman strength and powers by Greek gods in a particular Aphrodite. She is one of the founding members of Justice League in comics as well as DCEU. She is stronger than Man of Steel in comics although Justice League had a different take. She has lifted Thor’s hammer and is gifted with Athena i.e power of wisdom.
Last year’s Wonder Woman was groundbreaking as it brought in one of DC’s biggest characters onto the big screen in her first ever solo movie, and it was the first female lead Superhero movie that was not only critically successful, but it brought in the big bucks as well. It broke the losing streak of DCEU and established a template for other movies to follow.
A sequel to DC’s biggest success in all aspects was a no-brainer and WB took no time to announce the second solo outing for Wonder Woman.
It was the only film among all the 5 films of the DCEU that has been able to impress fans and critics alike and crossed $800 million at the worldwide Box Office as well. The film had not just smashed box-office records but also glass ceiling for women as it broke the record of biggest opening weekend collections for a female directed live-action movie.
The plot revolved around the origins of Wonder Woman, her evolution from being Diana on the island of Themyscira to saving American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who crashed his plane offshore, and ultimately becoming Wonder Woman and help allied forces win World War I. The studio even pitched Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins for Oscar nominations in different categories but as always the Oscar jury snubbed a comic book movie despite it having all the makings of a legit, commercially viable action blockbuster.
The sequel to the movie as mentioned above was announced at last year’s comic con and DC needs Wonder Woman 2 to do what the first movie did. DC needed a hit desperately last year and they got it with Wonder Woman. Now that Justice League failed to live up to the standards, and if Aquaman and Shazam! also end up failing, then Wonder Woman 2 will be the last hope for WB and DC before they decide to completely abandon their shared Universe and start fresh, yet again.
Gal Gadot believes that there’s so much more to explore with this character who has 75 years of legacy, there is a lot of material untouched and she just can’t wait to take on the mantle of Wonder Woman one more time.
It has been confirmed that the script for Wonder Woman 2 has been written by Geoff Johns, Patty Jenkins and David Callaham, and Patty Jenkins will be back to direct the second WW movie as well. The movie will probably begin production in mid-late 2018. The sequel will portray a period like the first movie itself. It will be set up during the 1980s to further fill the gap between the first Wonder Woman movie and her first live-action movie appearance, Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice.
Patty Jenkins is very excited to come at the helm of Wonder Woman again after delivering a massive hit. She has entered into a deal with WB and it is more than what she had asked for. According to reports, she would make the kind of amount that A-list male directors make in Hollywood. For a new superhero movie, a director get somewhere between $1.5 million to $3 million, but someone like Snyder got $10 million for Man of Steel. Patty may be making around $8-10 million and more if Wonder Woman 2 becomes a massive blockbuster like the first one.
She recently appeared at a podcast and shared her thoughts about directing the sequel. Here is what she said:
“It’s really still going to other values of hers, and a similar formula in so far as making a great, enjoyable fun movie but that ultimately in its third act turns some very big issues, and a very big experience that will aim to have slightly more weight and profundity than it has to have. Because that’s a formula that I really like, and I like the idea of taking somebody on a very solid, great journey but that arrives at a bigger question being answered”.
She added: “So it’s like that but because she is Wonder Woman and she’s here now and she’s fully developed, it’s got great fun from the start and great big superhero presence from the start, and is funny and a great love story again and a couple new unbelievable characters who I’m so excited about, who are very different than were in the last movie.”
The story that will take place during the timeline that will follow Diana facing off against the Soviet Union in the waning days of the Cold War. This will not be dissimilar to the approach that her standalone debut took with World War I. It will continue WW’s story and tell us that why Wonder Woman has still been in hiding for almost a century after World War 1 itself.
Also, since the movie is almost 60 years apart from the first one, most of the characters from the first movie will obviously not return for the second movie, but Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) may very well be on the verge of coming back. But most importantly, what the fans need to know about the sequel is that who will be the big bad of the movie.
The first movie starred Wonder Woman’s biggest Villain, The God of War, Ares. Wonder Woman took him down and that villain will probably not return in the DCEU. She heard stories about evil Ares, son of Zeus who corrupted the minds of men into doing horrible things that destroyed the very foundations of humanity and she believed that he came back, well whether Ares was responsible for the war or humans are at fault, Wonder Woman came to the rescue and save the world.
So, who will be the big bad for the second one? According to the new details that have hit the internet, WB are looking at a female villain to oppose the female lead, as Cheetah is going to be the next villain to face Wonder Woman.
In the comics, many characters have held the mantle of Cheetah overtime and the version that is going to appear in the movie is reportedly going to be Barbara Ann Minerva. In the comics, she is:
“a British anthropologist who becomes the avatar of the cheetah god after locating the lost city of Urzkartagan and stumbling into the middle of an ancient ritual.”
As we know that the storyline for this one will “follow Diana Prince into the 1980s where she will (somehow) reunite with Steve Trevor to take on the now-dissolved Soviet Union,” and Cheetah will somehow be incorporated into this, emerging as the big Villain to take on the titular hero.
Another major character who could be part of the WW sequel is Lynda Carter as the talks are underway to bring her onscreen. Carter said that the studio wanted to bring her into the DCEU in the very first Wonder Woman moovie but due to conflict in timings and schedule, they could not make it work. But this time they are positive and affirmative about making this happen. She is all praise and awe for both Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins and share an amazing relationship with them. According to her, Wonder Woman is so much more than superpowers, it is the idea of her, her intellect, compassion and vivaciousness which is inspiring for women.
Wonder Woman 2 will open in theatres on November 1, 2019. How do you guys feel about Cheetah being the main Villain? Do you feel she will be the right fit for the movie? Tell us in the comments. Keep reading QuirkyByte for more on Wonder Woman. CHEERS!
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