Wonder Woman 1984's villains are already fixing problems that Ares suffered in the original movie. 2017's Wonder Woman is widely considered a highlight of the DCEU franchise. More a war film than a superhero blockbuster, Gal Gadot's solo adventure as the Amazonian Princess known as Diana Prince was hailed for its emotive, earnest performances and stunning visuals, but mostly relied on a cast of strong and interesting characters headed-up by Gadot and Chris Pine as Diana's love interest, Steve Trevor. If there was one element of Wonder Woman that left room for improvement, however, it was the villain.

For most of Wonder Woman's run time, Ares is merely a presence; an intangible threat that Diana believes to exist, but who doesn't physically appear until deep into the film's final act. In a fairly predictably twist, Ares is revealed to have been hiding in the form of David Thewlis' Sir Patrick Morgan, Steve's superior on the allied war cabinet, pretending to advocate for peace while secretly plotting further death and destruction in The Great War. Ares' last-minute unveiling left a lot of story exposition to work into the final fight, and it wasn't long before the villain went the way of many superhero movie baddies and devolved into an unidentifiable CGI mass. Because Ares had no real physical presence throughout the vast majority of Wonder Woman, he proved to be a somewhat anti-climactic opponent for Diana, and the eventual reveal wasn't enough of a surprise to justify his absence.

Related: Wonder Woman 1984's Delay To 2020 Ended Up Being A Mistake

Fortunately, early signs prove that Wonder Woman 1984's villains are playing by a completely different rule book. Unlike Ares, both Kristen Wiig's Cheetah and Pedro Pascal's Maxwell Lord have been announced in advance and integrated into the sequel's marketing campaign. Even though Cheetah has yet to properly show her final animalistic form, Wiig's Barbara Ann Minerva has been afforded a strong promotional presence, meaning audiences are now at least partially acquainted with both her and Maxwell Lord prior to the film's release. Trailers have shown Diana and Barbara sharing a drink and laughing, foreshadowing a friendship that goes drastically wrong, and Maxwell Lord's sleazy 1980s capitalist businessman type is already thoroughly unlikable.

Wonder Woman 1984 Trailer Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva

Where the original Wonder Woman sacrificed developing Ares as a villain for a surprise rug-pull that probably didn't pack as much punch as intended, Wonder Woman 1984 is taking the opposite approach, setting up its new villains and allowing fans to invest in Diana's upcoming fight right off the bat. Some might argue that showing so much of Cheetah and Lord takes away the aura of mystery Ares possessed, but the snippets of information revealed so far actually raise more questions than answers. Where DC fans might've walked into the original Wonder Woman not entirely sure who the main villain even was, Wonder Woman 1984 is posing more specific questions. How does Cheetah transform, and what is her grudge against Diana? Does Maxwell Lord have a hand in Steve's return, and how is he seemingly granting impossible wishes? These questions are infinitely more interesting than having no knowledge of the villain whatsoever.

In fairness to Wonder Woman and Ares, the majority of superhero solo movies have struggled with their villains historically, both on the Marvel and DC sides of the divide. It could also be said that the focus of Diana's WW1 heroics was Diana herself, and the presence of a comic book villain was secondary to the more important task of stopping the war. Nevertheless, there's a buzz surrounding Cheetah and Maxwell Lord that wasn't afforded to Ares, and if Wonder Woman 1984 can add stronger bad guys to the first film's winning formula, the sequel could be one of DC's best.

More: Every Wonder Woman 1984 Reveal From EW's Cover Story

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