When Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters in October, fans will get to see more of Diana Prince’s story in the sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman, but while it’s technically a continuation of Diana’s story, it’s one that according to stars Gal Gadot and Kristen Wiig won’t feel like a sequel. In an interview with Total Film, both Gadot and Wiig stress that Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t just more of the previous film. It’s different in a number of ways and tonally is its own film.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Gadot explained that while Wonder Woman was very much Diana’s coming-of-age story and was about her becoming Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984 finds the hero in a different place — and not just physically. A lot of time has passed and she’s a different person now.
“We don’t pick up the story where we left it last, because it was 66 years ago,” Gadot said. “So she’s been living for over six decades by herself, in man’s world, serving mankind and doing good. And this story is a story of its own. I mean, the only thing that we share in both stories is probably, you know, the fact that it’s Diana Prince and also Steve Trevor. But other than that, it’s a whole new world, and the era is different, and Diana is different, and the story is new.”
Wiig added that everything in the film is very different, too in a way that is perhaps less directly connected to the first film.
“It really doesn’t feel like a sequel in that… everything’s different,” Wiig said. “The posters, the music, everything… Obviously the posters are different! I meant, like the style! A lot of time, with the sequel, you want to show the connection to the first one. And this one…”
“It’s totally of its own,” Gadot added. “It’s true. And I feel, in the first movie, a big thing that we played off was the naiveté of Diana. And she’s not naive anymore. She’s been around. She’s wiser. She’s more mature. We meet a very much evolved character in this one.”
Gadot and Wiig aren’t alone in their assessment that Wonder Woman 1984 doesn’t quite feel like a sequel to Wonder Woman, either. Director Patty Jenkins previously explained that the film is a sequel in the technical sense, but it’s also very much its own film.
“There was a little period of time where people got very upset, and questioning: ‘Is it not a sequel? Is it a total reboot?’” Jenkins explained. “It is a sequel, insofar as nothing is contradicted between the two movies. But it’s very important to me that it’s not more of the first movie. It’s a totally different movie. Now, when you see the trailer, you can feel it.”
She continued, “It’s a different tone, look, feel, world, and context. That was what important to me. This is its own standalone story that, of course, is also a continuation of our characters and their linear line. It’s just its own movie with its own very different feel.”
Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters October 2.
