Superhero films are not the easiest thing to report on in 2019. With Marvel Studios taking secrecy to unbelievable levels, it’s become commonplace for superhero films to just present the bare minimum information for fans and journalists and hope that everyone is fine with just experiencing all the shocks and surprises in the theater. As a fan, that’s incredible and a welcome thing. As someone that has to write about these films on a daily basis, it would be nice for a director or studio to throw us a bone every now and then. Thankfully, we have Patty Jenkins, the director of the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984.”
When casting news first broke about Jenkins’ upcoming sequel to her massive 2017 hit film, we learned that Gal Gadot and Chris Pine were returning, even if the latter was all sorts of exploded in the first film, as well as new additions Kristen Wigg, portraying the villainous Cheetah, and Pedro Pascal, who would play…well we didn’t know. You see, that was all part of the mystery! But now, thanks to a tweet from Jenkins, we have a pretty clear idea who Pascal will play in ‘WW84’ and it’s not all that surprising.
**Slight spoilers for ‘Wonder Woman 1984’**
According to the tweet, Jenkins welcomes the character Maxwell Lord to “Wonder Woman 1984.” And in the picture she shared, it’s clear that she’s drawing an allusion to Pedro Pascal, who is the cast member that many assumed would be playing Lord in the film.
For those not familiar with Maxwell Lord, the character is a criminal mastermind that was originally depicted as being an influential man that is usually the brains behind an operation. However, in later appearances, he’s shown to actually have the superpower of persuasion. Basically, he’s a smart, business-savvy a-hole with the gift of hypnotism. In one of the more famous storylines between Wonder Woman and Lord, the hero infamously snaps his neck after one of the villain’s more diabolical, murderous actions.
Depending on how Jenkins goes with the character, we could just be looking at the introduction of a Lex Luthor-esque human villain that is the man behind the curtain that Diana Prince must face. Or, if she wants to go full-on comic book, the filmmaker could also give him powers. Either way, Lord is probably the big bad of the film.
We’ll find out for sure when “Wonder Woman 1984” arrives in theaters on June 5, 2020.
Well hello… Max. #WW1984 pic.twitter.com/BgWsjyJixw
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) October 24, 2019