Wonder Woman Director Explains Why the Sequel Has to Be Set in 1984

Fans don't know exactly what to expect from Wonder Woman 1984, but the trailer released last week was a good start. Many wonder why the sequel had to take place in 1984 and Patty Jenkins has the answer to that very interesting question. At Brazil Comic Con, the director took some time to address why looking to that particular era appealed to her. There's also reason to believe that the time period holds significant weight with how the story will develop as well. Maxwell Lord is the sort of character that seems right at home in the maximalism that the 1980s affords. Seeing Chris Pine as a fish out of water is going to be a treat too, especially if there are more moments like the one from the trailer with that trash can. Still, it is interesting that when shows like Stranger Things are making full use of that time period to tell stories. Pulling off a convincing version of the 80s will be a hair easier with the extensive effects work on display in that trailer. Anyone who's ever stood in one of those giant malls from the period will be intimately aware of how close it seems the film got to echoing that design language.

"Why 1984?," Jenkins explains. "We wanted to bring Diana into the modern world, but the '80s is a period that Wonder Woman is quite synonymous with. So it was great to see her there, but most importantly, it's sort of the height of Western civilization and the success of the world that we all live in in the aftermath of now. So I was curious to collide our Wonder Woman into the height of our current modern belief system, and what kind of villains come out of that, and see what happens. So it all came quite naturally."

All of that reasoning just makes a ton of sense because of the "prosperity" inherent in the 1980s and how that links to Lord and other figures. For her part, Gal Gadot has been quick to point out how much she enjoyed the first cut of the film. It ended up being a much different experience for her when contrasted with the first Wonder Woman.

Gadot began, "For an actor to see himself playing in a movie is always a very strange thing, because you're very judgmental about yourself and you're very nervous and all you see is you, and I got to say the first time I watched Wonder Woman [1984], and it was the very first cut, the very first director's cut, I forgot it was me and I was is invested even though I shot the whole movie and I read the script a million times and we did it and filmed it for eight whole months and all of a sudden seeing all the puzzle pieces coming together and seeing this huge, grand… I called Patty crying. I had an even bigger reaction than I did for the first one."

Upcoming DC movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, Black Adam on December 22, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.

h/t Brazil Comic-Con via CinemaBlend