A brand-new poster for the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984 hit the internet earlier this week, posted to Twitter by none other than director Patty Jenkins herself.
We can’t blame Jenkins for wanting the world to see the dazzling poster as soon as possible. In a word, it’s retro. The one-sheet flawlessly captures the aesthetic of the 1980s, bursting with every shade of the neon rainbow that all come together to form a massive W.
But it’s much more than just an ultra-cool-looking piece of promotional material. This Wonder Woman 1984 poster gives fans their first look at Diana Prince’s brand-new costume, which looks a whole lot like her Gold Armor from the DC comics. In the source material, Diana obtains enhanced abilities when she dons the glimmering get-up: she’s able to fly; withstand explosions, bullets, energy blasts, and physical attacks; and can utilize the retractable faceplate on her helmet to breathe from a protected air supply if her oxygen is low or if the air around her is unclean. That should come in handy next time she has to breathe the air in London.
In DC Comics canon, the Themysciran artisan Pallas created the Gold Armor and gifted it to Diana for use in battles against incredibly powerful opponents. It proved its worth in Wonder Woman’s fights against villains like the living weapon Devastation.
Given that Wonder Woman 1984 sees the titular heroine face off with the Barbara Ann Minerva iteration of Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig, it makes sense why she would need new armor: she’s as formidable a foe as Diana has ever gone up against before. A British archaeologist and wealthy heiress, Barbara transformed into her super-villain alter-ego after traveling to Africa to visit a tribe led by a woman with all the force, strength, and agility of a cheetah. When marauders kill the woman, a priest named Chuma carries out the conference of powers from the slain leader to Barbara. The ceremony comes with severe consequences, though, as Barbara doesn’t meet all the requirements to be the perfect host for the Cheetah entity. As a human, she’s overcome with pain; as Cheetah, she’s vicious, vile, and bloodthirsty.
We don’t yet know how Wonder Woman will cross paths with Cheetah, but once she does, there’s a strong chance that their first fight could leave the Amazonian warrior shaken. She might make a quick trip to Themyscira and seek the aid of Pallas, who could outfit her with the Gold Armor to help ensure a win over Cheetah in their next battle.
This isn’t the only Wonder Woman 1984 media that fans got a glimpse of this week. The Spanish-language fan account DC Universe shared another one-sheet for the sequel as displayed at the 2019 Licensing Expo currently taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Though the Licensing Expo poster is certainly a visual treat, it doesn’t reveal much in the way of plot. Warner Bros. and DC Films have stayed incredibly tight-lipped about the long-awaited Wonder Woman sequel, revealing very little about what adventures the eponymous heroine will embark on for her second turn on the silver screen. All we truly know about Wonder Woman 1984 is its time setting, its villain, and that Pedro Pascal will appear as a mysterious and yet-unnamed politician character. Chris Pine will also return as pilot Steve Trevor…somehow. As for what the movie will be about, it’s said to follow Diana experiencing conflict with the Soviet Union during the Cold War before going head-to-head with Cheetah, but there’s no intel on how everything unfolds.
As backward as it sounds, that shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Director Jenkins seems to have it all figured out, telling Deadline in May that there’s a reason why the film takes place in 1984, which will connect to the sequel’s story and resonate with modern audiences. Jenkins explained:
“All I can say is that 1984 itself is definitely very evocative to what’s important in that movie and resonates with right now. I picked 1984 for a very specific reason…It was such an incredible time. I feel like there’s something about the excess of that period of time, which is so linked up to where we are in the world right now, that it’s set there for a reason. That’s all I can say.”
With Wonder Woman 1984 nowhere near its June 2020 launch date and the film’s promotional cycle not kicking off until December, fans sadly must wait a while before they can feast their eyes on more posters and first-look footage at the film. Hopefully the end result is worth the wait.
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