Here's why Maxwell Lord wasn't arrested at the end of Wonder Woman 1984 despite all the chaos he created. Director Patty Jenkins returned to the DCEU and reunited with Gal Gadot and Chris Pine after their first successful venture in 2017 via the first Wonder Woman film. The sequel introduced two new villains in the franchise — Barbara Ann Minvera, AKA Cheetah, and the powerful businessman, Maxwell Lord.
Jenkins previously said that during the initial stages of developing Wonder Woman 1984, Cheetah was meant to be the story's primary villain. But as they developed the narrative, it became clear that they needed both characters to make a compelling film and it makes sense considering Barbara's arc to become Cheetah hinges on her ties to Max and the nefarious things he wanted to achieve in the film. In hindsight, however, the scheming oil company executive is technically the sequel's lead villain. Had it not been for his motivations to amass not only money but power through the Dreamstone, much of Wonder Woman 1984's story would not be possible.
Related: Wonder Woman 1984 Also Fulfilled Steve Trevor's Dying Wish
Max's greed had no bounds in the DCEU film. After successfully reviving his oil company, he wanted more, so he sought the emir in the hopes of becoming the "King of Crude"himself. The villain continued his endeavors back in the United States when he went to the president and granted him more nuclear weapons that almost started World War III with the Soviet Union. Other than that, he also left havoc anywhere he went creating additional smaller, but still serious problems as he granted wish after wish. In the end, Diana was able to appeal to his humanity, convincing him to give up his evil plans and reunite with his son instead. The last time Wonder Woman 1984 featured Max, he was reuniting with Alistair; no indication that he was going to be accountable for everything he did. This might seem unfair as it was, especially considering how his singular greed almost put a lot of lives at risk, but in the grand scheme of things, Max didn't actually do anything illegal. Given how he's able to do nefarious things was rooted in magic, it's quite difficult to prove him guilty. That's on top of the fact that Reagan was the one who wished for more weapons; Max only made it happen.
During the villain's brief but tense conversation with the President of the United States, he simply asked him what he wanted. Max didn't coerce him into wishing anything — if anything, he might not have even cared what the politician wished for just as long as he wished for something so he can lord over him in exchange for granting his wish. It's also worth noting that he also instructed the president and his people to treat him with autonomy, which means that the rule of law doesn't apply to him.
This was pretty much how Max operated the whole time in Wonder Woman 1984; he simply asked people what they longed for and he made it happen for them. The president and everyone else had the free will to ask whatever they wanted, the same way, they also had the choice to decline his offer. Finally, since the Dream stone is an ancient artifact that has mystic abilities, it would be difficult to get a conviction with something that can't be explained by logic. This is made trickier by the fact that it doesn't physically exist anymore as it became one with Max. Even if Diana came out and testified, that would demand that she blows up her cover as Wonder Woman which she doesn't want, presuming her testimony would be considered anything more than hearsay.
Max joins the roster of DCEU villains who survives their initial outings, as well as, Cheetah, who also survives her final encounter with Diana. Interestingly, Wonder Woman 1984 doesn't kill anyone, despite the string of chaos it had in the film. Jenkins already floated the idea that Barbara can return in the future, but admittedly, it would be more curious to see how Max can potentially fit in future storytelling — whether that'll be for Wonder Woman 3 or other projects in the franchise.
