Warner Bros. already fast-tracked Wonder Woman movie will have to be a stronger installment to impress fans.
Wonder Woman 1984 follows the events of the 2017 DCEU movie Wonder Woman. While the latter received almost universal praise following its debut — some even argued the film marked a turning point that could save the DCEU — the former has been markedly more divisive. Set in the '80s, Wonder Woman 1984 departed stylistically from the previous film, and featured a much different tone: while both featured a "fish out of water" story mixed with an unlikely romance plot, the former did so more effectively because the overall storyline was more straight forward. Wonder Woman 1984, conversely, does too much — and as a result, its overall message about love and honesty is muddled.
Wonder Woman 1984 is not a "bad" movie — in fact, the DCEU film already has a ionate following who vocally the movie via social media. Likely, all the buzz surrounding the sequel contributed to Warner Bros. greenlighting another film in the franchise. Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins are set to return for Wonder Woman 3, and hopefully, the two can pull off a third installment in the series that does a better job of entertaining the majority of viewers.
Wonder Woman 3 Needs To Be Shorter — And Stronger
Wonder Woman 1984 does have some amazing action sequences and truly memorable moments; however, at a 151 minutes, the movie is longer than its story can . While 2017's Wonder Woman had a similar length — 141 minutes — it did a lot more with that time: it introduced viewers to the world of Themyscira and its culture, audiences got to know the other main protagonist, Chris Pine's character Steve Trevor, and the movie set up a Great War plotline with antagonists Erich Ludendorff and Dr. Posion (and later, Ares himself). There's a lot of narrative ground to cover justifying the runtime, and with the main conflict being grounded in a World War 1 story, the additional exposition is minimal and Diana's motivations are clear.
In Wonder Woman 1984, the audience already knows Diana Prince and they already know Steve Trevor — who sacrificed himself in Wonder Woman. Sure, the movie needed to set up the new villains Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), as well as the central conflict with the Dreamstone, but the overall approach felt unbalanced, and the uneven pacing made the 151 minute movie really feel like a two and a half hour experience. Wonder Woman 3 will have to be shorter, and the overall story will need to be tighter.
Wonder Woman 3 Should Be Set In Current DCEU Timeline
Wonder Woman being set during World War I made sense, since it was overall approach of Zack Snyder's DCEU. Wonder Woman 1984 similarly nods to its time period through its aesthetic — but the overly saturated palette it uses, and its artificial, fun and bright visual tone, detracts from the thematic tone the movie strives for. If the core thesis in Wonder Woman 1984 is the condemnation of capitalism, or a cry for decreased individualism and increased social honesty and ability (likely through environmentalism), then why is so much of the film seemingly celebrating the excesses of the '80s?
By setting Wonder Woman 3 in a contemporary time period, director Jenkins can avoid further complaints that she is relying on the appeal of a past time period; further, a contemporary time period would help connect Justice League. The thematic confusion in Wonder Woman 1984 would likely be avoided in a contemporary story as well, since Jenkins could focus on matching the film's aesthetic to the movie's themes, rather than trying to evoke the feel of a past period in history through color.
Wonder Woman 3: Diana Should Love Again
Some have argued that Steve Trevor returning in Wonder Woman 1984 weakens Diana's character, and — while the chemistry between Gadot and Chris Pine is undoubtably charming to watch — there is some merit to this claim. The scenes between Diana and Steve were heartfelt, believable, funny, and downright enjoyable, but they did nothing to further Diana's story. In fact, her character development actually takes a detour, as she goes from being a heroic selfless warrior to an entitled, shortsighted woman demanding "why can't I have this one thing?" It's a very relatable sentiment, especially for over-worked moms in the audience (as this author can attest), but this being only Diana's second solo film, the moment isn't quite earned yet.
Having said that, Diana should love again in Wonder Woman 3. If Wonder Woman is a story of love and loss, the next chapter should feature Diana moving on from Steve. What better way to do this than to introduce a new romantic interest? Or, Wonder Woman could depart from the original movie, opting to give Diana a different kind of love story: one in which she develops a familial love with a close friend, surrogate daughter, or even a mentor or mentee.
Diane Needs Female Friends In Wonder Woman 3
The blossoming friendship between Diana and Wonder Woman 1984 was beautiful to watch, and it's a shame that the movie didn't repair that relationship by the end. Barbara may return to the DCEU as a villain because her ending in Wonder Woman 1984 was ambiguous (and Wiig's performance was very well received); however, it would be better for the franchise if Barbara returned to make amends. Wonder Woman needs female friends.
Wonder Woman 3 needs to give Gal Gadot a friendly female character to share a screen with. Superheroes rarely operate completely independently — even Batman has Alfred — so it's a misstep to characterized Gal Gadot as isolated and lonely. While it's believable that the Themysciran would have difficulty relating to the average human being, thankfully, the Wonder Woman 1984 post-credit scene already set up a solution to that problem: Asteria.
Wonder Woman 3 Needs Lynda Carter
The Wonder Woman 1984 post-credit scene introduced a familiar face: Lynda Carter, the actress who played Wonder Woman in the live-action show that aired in the late 1970s. The scene showed Carter as a mysterious woman named Asteria with powers similar to Diana's; this is the payoff to an earlier comment that Diana had searched, unsuccessfully, for the owner of the Themysciran golden eagle armor who had stayed behind to fight off mankind so that her sisters could escape to their hidden island. The scene thus sets up Carter to reprise the role in Wonder Woman 3, which could feature the two finally meeting, and hopefully, forming a meaningful friendship.
With anticipation already high for Wonder Woman 3, director Patty Jenkins has her work cut out for her — but all evidence suggests she's up for the task. Wonder Woman 1984 was enjoyable, and was easily one of the best superhero movies of 2020. Yet, the movie was not as strong as many had hoped it would be. Expectations for sequels are always high, and that will be the case for Wonder Woman 3. Hopefully, Jenkins will take note of WW84's criticisms and do what needs to be done to make the next entry in the franchise a movie that all audiences will enjoy.
