DC looks to be shoring up its backstory with the just-released trailer for Wonder Woman. Set during the first World War, it’ll lay the groundwork similar to what the first Captain America did for Marvel, as well as the more fantastic elements, namely Diana was brought to life by the god Zeus, vis-à-vis Thor. I suppose it’s only fair, DC gets the Greek gods and the MCU stays with the Nordic ones.
Story-wise, it seems to be staying close to the vintage-era Wonder Woman comic, starting with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) washed up on the shore of Themyscira. With a few brief shots of Diana’s homeland, she’s given a heavy-hearted goodbye before accompanying Steve back to the rest of the war-torn world, circa 1918. Making Wonder Woman a period piece gives director Patty Jenkins (best known for the Oscar-winning Monster) a chance to retrofit the past of the still-unfolding DCU, while giving some hints of levity to the (so far) unnecessarily grim tone of the Snyder-verse.
Speaking of the Zach Snyder, his influence is heavily felt throughout, and not just because he had a hand in the script (this was before the world realized Dawn of Justice was a tremendous disappointment). It’s most obvious when we see his trademark ‘slow it down, then speed it way up’ approach to comic book cinema.
Still, it’s hard to deny that Wonder Woman storming the battle fields of World War I doesn’t look like it’ll make for a fantastic third act. Between that and Gadot’s already-proven charisma in the role (she literally saved Dawn of Justice, along with its two lead characters), Wonder Woman could be the superhero epic DC needs before it gets too comfortable with the expectations behind their upcoming mega-crossover Justice League.
Wonder Woman is due in theaters June 2nd, 2017.
