Patty Jenkins shared a photo on Twitter this morning that revealed a huge surprise about the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984: Chris Pine is returning as Steve Trevor for the Wonder Woman sequel.
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The photo showed Trevor, played by Chris Pine, looking somewhat confused or concerned while standing in a shopping mall circa 1984 dressed in what looks like a black Members Only jacket, black pants, Nike sneakers, and a digital watch. Jenkins captioned the photo “Welcome to WONDER WOMAN 1984, Steve Trevor!”
While fans of the original film had been hopeful that Trevor would somehow return in the sequel, seeing Diana/Wonder Woman’s (Gal Gadot) love interest who sacrificed himself to save the world in Wonder Woman as something other than a ghost immediately set off speculation as to how he would return — and if it’s really Trevor at all. While we’re not likely to get any details about Trevor’s return until Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters, we have a few theories of our own as to how the movie could bring back Trevor — and a few have their roots in comics.
In comics, Steve Trevor has died a few times, the first being in Wonder Woman #180 from 1969 where he was killed by Doctor Cyber right after Diana made the choice to give up her powers to be with Trevor. He returned eight years later in Wonder Woman #233 with new hair and a new name (Steve Howard this time). He was killed a few issues later, though it turned out that it wasn’t Trevor at all but the god Eros. There have also been appearances by Trevors from other worlds and even a replacement Trevor in Wonder Woman #322 in which the goddess Aphrodite took the version from another world and gave him the memories of the real Trevor. It’s worth noting that the publication date for that issue? It was 1984.
All of those are possibilities. But there are other, less weird ones, too. First, Trevor’s return in Wonder Woman 1984 could be a product of time travel. We’re not entirely certain how that would work, but this is a comic book movie. It’s certainly possible. There’s also the possibility that Wonder Woman 1984 will take a page from the Marvel Cinematic Universe playbook and have the DC Steve have been trapped in ice for roughly 70 years just like Steve Rogers was in Captain America: The First Avenger. While that would be an interesting take, Wonder Woman is the superhero here. They’d have to do some explaining as to how Trevor, a mere mortal, survived.
It’s also possible that this isn’t the same Trevor who fought alongside Diana in the first Wonder Woman. He could be a son or even grandson (grandson being a little more likely given the time gap between World War I and 1984) of the real Steve Trevor. That explanation would also have an interesting parallel to the MCU if they went that route as Captain America ended up in something of a relationship with Peggy Carter’s niece, Sharon.
There is also the disturbing possibility that this Trevor is completely unrelated and is, instead, a way to torment Diana. In comics a villain named Doctor Psycho once took the form of Steve Trevor after all
Whatever the explanation for Trevor’s appearance in Wonder Woman 1984, fans might not want to get too attached to the idea of him just yet. We’ve already seen Wonder Woman in a more contemporary setting thanks to her appearances in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League — and in both she was still mourning for him.
Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters on November 1, 2019.
What do you think the explanation is for Steve Trevor’s return? Let us know your thoughts in comments.
