'Wonder Woman 1984' director explains why she chose Cheetah and Maxwell Lord as villains

Directed by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars Gal Gadot as she reprises her role as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman. It a sequel to the 2017 release film Wonder Woman. The superhero movie will feature not one but two villains and both are said to play an important part in the storyline. Now Jenkins disclosed how the two baddies were selected to appear in the film. 

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Why Cheetah and Maxwell Lord are chosen as villains in WW84

In a recent Q&A session during DC FanDome event, Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins explained how she chose the antagonists for the movie. She said that they both are “quintessential Wonder Woman villains", referring to DC comics. The filmmaker mentioned that the first one which came to her mind was Cheetah. Jenkins revealed that she “almost wanted” Cheetah in the first movie, but then when it did not work out, she ended up being the teams' immediate go-to villain for the second instalment.

Patty Jenkins added that when Wonder Woman 1984 story started to come to life, it suddenly became clear to her that Maxwell Lord was also “such an important part” of making the story work. The filmmaker stated that she loved the idea of the two of them together and getting to see how that made things more interesting. She asserted that it was a “very easy go-to” thing and she was “super excited” to see these baddies. Jenkins noted that there is plenty more she is excited to see too. 

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Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal will be making their debut in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) with Wonder Woman 1984. Wiig plays Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah who first become friends with Diana Prince but later turns into her enemy. Pascal will essay Maxwell Lord, a charismatic businessman and entrepreneur who is popular for his TV infomercials. Both teams up against Wonder Woman.

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Wonder Woman 1984 cast also includes Chris Pine as he makes a return as Steve Trevor. Robin Wright and Connie Nielson will make a comeback as Antiope and Hippolyta, respectively. Natasha Rothwell, Ravi Patel, Kristoffer Polaha, Gabriella Wilde and Amr Waked have been cast in undisclosed roles.

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Wonder Woman 1984 release date has suffered several setbacks. It was initially set to release on December 13, 2019, but was moved up to November 1, 2019. Then it was pushed to June 5, 2020, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic the date was changed to August 14, 2020, which changed again to October 2, 2020. Now with the latest update, WW84 has Christmas 2020 release date. So it has been delaying around for more than a year.

Promo Image Source: WonderWomanFilm Twitter