“It was never a screenplay, but we talked about it so much that it kind of had its own life.”
Director Zack Snyder is just a week away from dropping his new film Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scavenger on Netflix. However, fans are still pondering what his DC Universe could have been if given the proper chance. Now, Snyder has revealed more details about what his initial plans for Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman could have in what is known as Wonder Woman 1854.
In an exclusive interview with Empire Magazine, the Man of Steel director was answering fan questions when the topic of 1854 came up. Specifically, what it could have looked like if it did make it off the island of Themyscira. “The idea of that was an early riff we were doing: once Wonder Woman left the island in search of Ares, what happened to her in her different incarnations?” He went on to elaborate:
“My idea for it was that she would travel around the world looking for Ares and she would go to every place where there was conflict. On those battlefields she found these lovers, warriors, and they would age out because she is immortal. They would be her lover for ten years or they might die in battle, and it was probably sad for a lot of the guys because they would see her starting to be nice to the next young soldier and be like, ‘Oh, I’m being replaced.’ But all the guys that she had with her were those loyal warriors she found on the battlefields all over the world.”
Like the story we ultimately got, it would have led her on a familiar path, “We talked about if Steve Trevor was there in Crimea.” However, this was only ever an idea, as Snyder would go on to say, “It was never a screenplay, but we talked about it so much that it kind of had its own life.” The only physical proof left of this storyline is a picture taken by Stephen Berkman that infamously showed Wonder Woman holding the severed head of an enemy.
Wonder Woman Remains a Bright Spot of the DCEU
While Snyder’s time in the DC Universe was full of rocky terrain, with all his films being very divisive, Wonder Woman and Gadot’s portrayal of the iconic Justice League member was always a highlight. Introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we get hints of Snyder’s darker take on the character of a hero who was reluctant to help because of her history with mankind. Similar to what Snyder was alluding to with the potential 1854 storyline. However, somewhere in that film’s production, the backstory was changed, and the picture was replaced with a World War I-era shot. This would be further explored in her own solo film where she would ultimately track down Ares in 1918 Europe. Another change was that Diana was a beacon of hope while Steve Trevor was the war-weary soldier who had to discover love again through Wonder Woman’s eyes. The darker tones still grounded the character in some much-needed realism, but by the time Wonder Woman 1984 was released, the character went in a campier direction.
While Patty Jankins’ Wonder Woman 3 has been abandoned and Gadot’s time as the character is seemingly over, Co-Head of DC Studios James Gunn will be releasing a series centered around Themyscira, Paradise Lost. This is a part of the new DCU starting with next year’s Superman. It’s unclear if their version of Wonder Woman will appear in it or not. While waiting for more Wonder Woman news, as we continue to wonder “what if”, you can currently stream both Wonder Woman films on Max in the U.S. and check out the 1854 image below.
