Wonder Woman 1984: New Costume Is a Lot Like the Bat Suit

Fans may have to wait until October for Wonder Woman 1984 to finally open in theaters, but that doesn't mean fans have to wait to appreciate some of the exciting elements of the upcoming film. Thanks to trailers for Wonder Woman 1984, fans have already gotten a look at Diana's stunning Golden Eagle armor and now costume designer Lindy Hemming is breaking down some of the details about that epic costume and notes that Diana's newest look is similar to the Batsuit in its construction: all small parts combining to make one cool set of armor.

Speaking with Total Film (via SYFY Wire) Hemming explained that to bring the suit to life she had to come up with some creative solutions, including "a fantastic under suit" that was made from "tiny panels of urethane" that were then applied to a catsuit. Then all of that was painted gold and had 3-D printed items placed on top. The effect was a suit that would move with the wearer -- but wasn't necessarily comfortable.

"It's like the Batsuit, or anything: all small parts," Hemming explained. "An armadillo-like articulation means that the person can move and twist and turn, and it will return to its previous position. Having said that, it was not pleasant to wear -- and no armor of any kind is pleasant to wear!"

Hemming comparing the Golden Eagle armor to the Batsuit is actually a pretty fitting one and more than just in terms of construction. Hemming was the costume designer for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. However, while there were similarities between the Batsuit and Diana's armor, there are also noted differences -- such as those impressive wings. Hemming explained that there were multiple sets of those -- including some that had cages behind them -- and that Gal Gadot rarely had to wear the whole suit on set, which is probably a good thing given how complex it was.

"She could wear part of the armor," Hemming said. "So, she could have her legs free while she was being filmed from the waist up. And the wings would be taken away when they weren't needed, which was often."

She continued, "Patty [Jenkins] wanted the wings to become a 'one-woman formation of shields, so no one can attack her."

It's that element of protection that could itself be a tease to some of what fans can expect when they finally get to see the armor in action on the big screen. In comics, Diana first dons the Golden Eagle armor in the 1996 Kingdom Come storyline (it was eventually incorporated into main continuity by 1999) and in addition to the wings giving the wearer the ability to fly, the armor offers protection from attack to the hero wearing it. Given that Wonder Woman 1984 will see Diana face off with Maxwell Lord and Barbara Ann Minerva/Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), that armor may suggest some hand-to-hand combat between Wonder Woman and Cheetah, given the latter's cat-like abilities.

Whatever the need for that armor, director Jenkins has previously teased that the film's '80s setting will have a "fun pop" to it.

"It does have that fun pop," Jenkins reflected. "She was so great in such a great era and we do get to capture that. The only thing I can tell you is that it went really well, we just finished shooting, and yeah, the actors are incredible. We did a ton of the stuff on wires and it looks mind-blowing."

Wonder Woman 1984 is currently scheduled to open in theaters on October 2.