Apparently ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ director Patty Jenkins does not see the film as a sequel to ‘Wonder Woman,’ which has a lot of folks scratching their heads. Is she implying that this is a reboot? A prequel? A re-imagining? By definition a “sequel” is:
“a published, broadcast, or recorded work that continues the story or develops the theme of an earlier one.“
Point being, if this is in ANY way a continuation of the story of the Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman) we met in ‘Wonder Woman,’ then this is a sequel, no matter how you look at it. However, I think Jenkins is thinking “sequel” more in terms of a limited series or trilogy, in which every installment builds the story toward a finale, so she is actually saying this movie stands on its own and is not part of a big overarching story for Diana Prince which will culminate in a third or fourth chapter. It is simply another movie featuring the character we met before.
While speaking on the subject of whether or not ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ was a “sequel,” long-time DCEU producer Charles Roven stated the following about Jenkin’s approach to the film:
“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 heart strings as well.”
In addition to that, a source close to Jenkin’s told news outlet Vulture that:
“It’s a stand-alone film in the same way that Indiana Jones or Bond films are, instead of one continuous story that requires many installments.”
And while the director herself has yet to publicly comment on the matter, all of this does seem to fit with her statements from Comic-Con last year, where she said:
“I never want to do more of anything for the wrong reason. We can make a whole new movie about something completely new, and as unique in its own right as the first one.”
I actually really do appreciate the idea of making each film unique and stand-alone as it helps ensure every movie gets the kind of attention and hard-work it deserves and is not just a “bridge” movie to get to the finale, which has been happening all too often in Hollywood these days, especially with franchise films where everyone wants an MCU of their own, and is willing to sacrifice the quality of individual films just so they can get it out there in preparation for some big team-up movie or epic conclusion. It is refreshing to see a director really focus on their own film and announce to the world that it stands on its own and does not need predecessors or sequels to make it great. Still, I cannot help but cringe when I hear exclamations claiming ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ is not a sequel, because it clearly is.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will have many (if any) ties back to the original besides Diana? Feel free to share your theories and opinions in the comments below!
Source: Vulture
