Here is the DC movie I am most excited to see, Wonder Woman 1984 dropped a new trailer during the DC Fandome event this weekend. It’s such a good time! Diana lassoing lightning? Awesome! Cheetah’s punk style? Cool! Steve Trevor doing a 1980s fashion montage? Fun! Wonder Woman 1984 continues to look like the tits, from Diana’s awesome Golden Eagle armor to Barbara Minerva transforming into the villain Cheetah, to Steve Trevor’s mysterious return. The bits of Barbara and Diana fighting are good, even with obviously unfinished CGI. I love the bit with Barbara yanking on the lasso and going through Diana’s gauntlets. Cheetah is boosh-resistant!
We also get more of Pedro Pascal’s villain, Maxwell Lord. It’s an obvious riff on Art of the Deal-era Trump, which is fine, but what I really like is the suggestion we get of what his villain is introducing into the world. We’ve been wondering how Steve Trevor can come back from the dead, and here Maxwell Lord says, “Anything you dream of, you can have it.” And then here comes Steve Trevor back in the flesh, and mousy Barbara Minerva suddenly turns into an “apex predator”, so it appears this will all be connected to whatever villain sh-t Maxwell Lord is up to. “Be careful what you wish for” tied to the power of the gods is a solid superhero setup. Wonder Woman 1984 remains the strongest-looking movie on DC’s slate.
This trailer also says “Only in theaters”. I mean, I’m sure it will OPEN only in theaters, but WW84 is scheduled for October 2, a month after theaters in the US reopen. That’s plenty of time to see if movie-going leads to new outbreaks of COVID-19 (as it has with reopening restaurants/bars, schools, and college campuses). What we’re increasingly seeing is studios admitting that fluidity is key during the pandemic, thus the hybrid release of Mulan, which is splitting between theaters and Disney+, or Bill & Ted Face the Music, which is opening in theaters and on home rental simultaneously.
Warner Brothers, with Tenet and now WW84, is showing a commitment to movie theaters, but really, what will they do if it just isn’t safe to go to the movies come October 2? I guess they could push the movie again, but by October 2 we’ll have some idea of the demand for blockbusters streaming at home, and if a movie like WW84 might be viable as a premium rental after a short theatrical run. (Also, if there are new outbreaks and they keep pushing “only in theaters”, could there be a public backlash to a perceived lack of care for public health?) Flexibility and a fluid response to changing circumstances is really the only way to be right now. By all means, say “only in theaters”, but maybe throw an ellipsis after that. “Only in theaters…at first.”
