Can ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Work As A Standalone Instead Of Being A Sequel?

When speaking to Vulture, veteran producer Charles Roven explained how the sequel to the massive hit Wonder Woman will not necessarily be a sequel.

Wonder Woman, in many ways, edges out the more recent Captain Marvel in being the first big budget studio superhero movie to be headlined by a female character. Starring Gal Gadot, the film went on to break box office records, and currently holds a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The character of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) was originally introduced in Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, and was then given her own origin story in Wonder Woman. The story saw a World War I pilot, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), crash-land on a mythical island hidden from the rest of the world through magic — one populated by warrior women known as the Amazons. After being rescued by the young Diana (Gadot), Steve exposes her to the troubles of war outside of her island. Wanting to help mankind, Diana chooses to leave the island with Trevor, hoping to end mankind’s struggles — only to realize the harshness of the world, and the flaws of the human race.

Diana’s journey from idealistic young woman to embittered warrior — and then eventually finding a balance between it all — came via the self-sacrifice of Trevor, a man she ended up loving.

The producer of both Wonder Woman and the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984 conveys the tone of the sequel, with Roven explaining that it will not be a sequel at all. This appears to be evident in director Patty Jenkins’ approach, which was Roven’s focus in a conversation with Vulture.

“She was just determined that this movie should be the next iteration of Wonder Woman but not a sequel. And she’s definitely delivering on that. It’s a completely different time frame and you’ll get a sense of what Diana-slash-Wonder Woman had been doing in the intervening years. But it’s a completely different story that we’re telling. Even though it’ll have a lot of the same emotional things, a lot of humor, a lot of brave action. Tugs at the heartstrings as well.”

One of the most intriguing leaks offered up to audiences in terms of Wonder Woman 1984 is the appearance of Chris Pine in set photos, as reported by Vanity Fair, despite his death in the original film. The loss of Trevor has become a defining character trait for Wonder Woman, even being referenced as the reason for her absence in the main DC Extended Universe, by Batman (Ben Affleck) in Justice League. If the sequel is to be treated more as a standalone film, or another film in an anthology-styled franchise, it seems unlikely that Trevor’s death and return will be addressed by the film.

Wonder Woman 1984 is set to release on June 5, 2020.