Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins justifies their decision to have Steve Trevor use an unknowing man's body in the sequel. The filmmaker returned to the DCEU and reunited with Gal Gadot following their first venture in 2017's Wonder Woman. But while the original movie had generally positive feedback from both viewers and critics, its follow-up has quite a different reception.
Not that Wonder Woman 1984 is bad, it's a good escapist movie full of hope and optimism. But the standards set by its predecessor was just too high that anything below that felt like a disappointment. The most common criticism of the DCEU project was its convoluted storyline; it simply had too much going on, and it could've worked better if it had a more streamlined story. That said, one of the most controversial creative choices in the film was the manner with which it brought back Steve after Diana secretly wished for his resurrection to the Dreamstone. Instead of a straight-up return, Wonder Woman 1984 made it a bit more complicated when he showed up in another man's body. As established in the film, that unnamed man has a life of his own, and yet, he's unaware that someone who died during WWI was inhabiting his body.
Addressing the backlash, Jenkins reposted a post made by a fan in defense of the plot point. The argument points to the film Big starring Tom Hanks, saying that if Wonder Woman 1984 is to be criticized for this, so should the '80s flick. Additionally, it also cites that after Diana renounced her wish, everything that happened between him and Steve in the '80s was erased from the fabric of reality anyway. Check out the full tweet below:
It's curious why Wonder Woman 1984 didn't just bring back Steve in his own body. Granted that this would've eradicated the explanation he provided about where he first ended up following his resurrection; there are other ways to explain how he ended up in the '80s and found Diana. Since the Dreamstone can do pretty much anything, only taking something from those who wished to it, this could've been done easily without the extra complications brought by the involvement of another man. That's unless Diana's wish wasn't totally clear when asking for Steve's return to existence; after all, the film never revealed exactly what she told the Dreamstone.
This justification may not be enough for those who aren't happy with this particular plot point in Wonder Woman 1984. Just because it was done in an '80s film doesn't mean that it's okay, especially since there are a lot of tropes from old films that are ultimately deemed unacceptable now in a more socially-involved public. In addition to that, wiping Diana's dalliance with Steve in another man's body after she renounced her wish isn't really a strong argument since she and the rest of the audience who watched the film know what happened. This is what made her chance encounter with the man at the end of Wonder Woman 1984 awkward and uncomfortable for some.
Source: Patty Jenkins
