#Wonder Woman 1984 Director Hoped DC Sequel Would Inspire Kids to Save the World

After a long wait, Wonder Woman 1984 debuted late last year to less-than-stellar reviews. A common complaint from fans was that the film appeared to take a drastic turn from 2017’s Wonder Woman into much more campy and fluffy territory. In an interview, the director of the film, Patty Jenkins, explained that making Wonder Woman 1984 more light-hearted was a conscious choice because Jenkins hoped to make the serious subject of the story more palatable to young audiences

“We wanted to talk about something quite a bit more serious than we did with the first film, which is [about] the crisis facing our world. How do you use a superhero to inspire and reach the people of tomorrow, the kids of tomorrow, and the younger people of the world to save our world? I mean, if we’re not doing that with our superhero films, what are we doing? But because it was a more serious subject, I wanted it to be a more enjoyable-visually-ride. And so, I loved the idea of the ’80s. It countered the seriousness of our message with something fun and delightful.”

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Much has been written about Jenkins’ decision to set the second Wonder Woman movie in 1984 instead of bringing the superheroine into the present. According to Patty Jenkins, placing the story in the ’80s was a means of underlining the theme of the movie, that mankind’s desire to have it all without working for it could lead to dire consequences.

“We were celebrating excess wealth and power and money for no reason-having it all just because we wanted it. Not because we’d earned it, not because of hard work, not because of any of these other things. And, of course, I grew up watching the Lynda Carter TV show, so it felt like such a wonderful home for Wonder Woman.”

While other aspects of Wonder Woman 1984 have been criticized, fans and critics generally agree that Gal Gadot was once again perfectly cast as Princess Diana aka Wonder Woman. For the actress, the decision to make another Wonder Woman movie came with a renewed appreciation for what the character meant to people around the world, and a desire to honor that fandom.

“I never really realized what an impact she had on people across the board, all around the world. This is the biggest movie and the most ambitious movie I’ve ever got to work on. And once we had the script and the vision, we just made sure that everyone gave a thousand percent for eight months to make sure that we could give the best movie we can to these amazing, amazing fans.”

Directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars a cast consisting of Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, and Natasha Rothwell. The film is now available in select theaters and can also be viewed on HBO Max. This news originated on Deadline.

Topics: Wonder Woman 2, Wonder Woman