Director Patty Jenkins recalls the difficulty of bringing Kristen Wiig's Cheetah to life in Wonder Woman 1984. Barbara Ann Minerva is one of the two new adversaries for Diana Prince in the upcoming Warner Bros/DC Films sequel, the other one being businessman Maxwell Lord, played by Pedro Pascal.
Originally slated to release in November 2019, the movie has been delayed a few times for several reasons, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Now, Wonder Woman 1984 is set to roll out simultaneously in open theaters and on HBO Max this Christmas. Admittedly, not everyone is a fan of this split release schedule, but for those who have been waiting a long time for the sequel to roll out, it's deemed a win. That includes Jenkins and the whole cast of the movie, who are proud of what they were able to achieve in the sequel.
As Wonder Woman 1984 nears its release, press events for the film are also in full swing. Speaking with ComicBook, Jenkins recalls how difficult it was to bring Cheetah to life in the new film, admitting that she was worried about it from the moment they started preparing for the film until they watched her on-screen. Despite the pressure, Jenkins says that she was just set on using Minerva in the movie.
"Executing Cheetah was harrowing. I got to tell you, I knew that I wanted Cheetah to be in it, but from day one I was like, 'Whew, this is ... Got to be right!' You know? I was so scared about not getting it to look right, and it took every second from the moment we started prep to the moment we watched picture to get it there. Like, every single second was so hard to do."
Marketing for Wonder Woman 1984 didn't straightforwardly reveal Wiig's Cheetah's look for the movie. Instead, they mainly featured her as Barbara in trailers and TV spots. But presumably due to the extended promotional period, they eventually had to unveil her look. That and the numerous leaks on her character design through tie-in merchandise. While the fully transformed Cheetah has been revealed already, it's still difficult to see the finer details of her appearance as there's no official still of her as the villain. That said, from what's been shown thus far, she looks good—which is a difficult task to accomplish.
Jenkins didn't dwell on why she really wanted Cheetah for Wonder Woman 1984, but it's safe to say that it has something to do with her dynamic with Diana and the film's overall story. As confirmed by the trailers, Minerva starts off as a friend to the Themysciran princess. Eventually, there's a falling-out, and Barbara gets fed up with Wonder Woman. It's unclear what caused this turn of events, but considering her supposed link to Lord, chances are that it has something to do with him. Jenkins previously said that the sequel's narrative needed both villains to work which means their respective arcs are connected. In any case, the public won't have to wait that long to find out with the blockbuster coming out in a couple of weeks.
Source: ComicBook
