A Fan-Favorite Character Is Returning For Wonder Woman 3
A surprising character may be returning for Wonder Woman 3.
This article is more than 2 years old
When it comes to the wide world of the DC Extended Universe, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman emerged as the strongest entry while her Wonder Woman 1984 ended up being a disappointment for many. The latter was panned for various continuity errors and a script riddled with plot holes but while Pedro Pascal was criticized for his comical portrayal of Maxwell Lord, Kristen Wiig’s Minerva Barbara/Cheetah became a fan favorite. And now a report says that she will possibly return for Wonder Woman 3.
As reported by We Got This Covered, Kristen Wiig is expected to make a comeback as Cheetah in Wonder Woman 3. While the report doesn’t provide any further points of proof to back its claims, Wiig’s return as the villainous character from Wonder Woman 1984 doesn’t sound that far-fetched given how her story in the film wrapped up on an open-ended conclusion.
Wonder Woman 1984 initially introduced Kristen Wiig’s Minerva Barbara as a meek, severely underconfident individual who is in awe of Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince. Thus when she unknowingly comes across the powerful Dreamstone, which is capable of granting one wish per person, she inadvertently wishes to be like Diana. What starts off with Barbara becoming a confident individual overnight soon turns into Barbara gaining superpowers like that of Wonder Woman. And this is probably the version that will make it to Wonder Woman 3, not the apex predator she becomes in the third half of the film.
As the Dreamstone takes something valuable in return for granting wishes, Barbara loses her humanity when she becomes superhuman, while her insecurities rise to the top. And when Maxwell Lord lets her know that he is now the Dreamstone itself and can grant unlimited wishes, she shares that she doesn’t want to be like anyone anymore. She wishes to be an apex predator which transforms her into the badly CGI’d Cheetah we met in the last half of the film. But as Diana succeeds in making Lord rescind his wish to be the Dreamstone, it nullifies all the wishes he had granted while possessing its powers. But this means Barbara loses her upgraded powers, not the powers she was granted the first time she wished upon the stone, something which Wonder Woman 1984 wasn’t very clear about. So, if Kristen Wiig indeed makes it to Wonder Woman 3, she will most probably be still a supervillain as she is not really in touch with her humanity anymore.
Filmmaker Patty Jenkins has established that, unlike the last two Wonder Woman films, Wonder Woman 3 won’t be set in the past and will see Diana in the present. If Wiig’s Minerva Barbara is still going to be Diana’s adversary in the current timeline, decades after the events in 1984, it will only be possible if she still retained her superpowers at the end of the second film. In any case, it will be a long time before this report gets the official stamp of approval (or denial) from Jenkins, Wiig, or Warner Bros. as the director is currently busy with Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, set to be released on December 22, 2023.
