The mystery of Steve Trevor's return is the most burning issue of Wonder Woman 1984 - and the answers may end up changing what fans know about the original film. Director Patty Jenkins' highly-anticipated follow up to her 2017 smash hit rockets Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to the Me Decade where she will face a new enemy, the Cheetah (Kristen Wiig). However, her lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) is also returning for the sequel even though he died in the first film.
There could be a few different reasons for Steve's miraculous comeback. At the conclusion of Wonder Woman, fans (and Diana) watched him sacrifice himself by piloting a plane filled with Doctor Poison's lethal gas into the sky, which exploded. It's possible he didn't die but was teleported into the future via some kind of magic (Wonder Woman is kin to and deals with the Greek gods and monsters, after all). It's also possible that the Steve who suddenly reappears in Diana's life in 1984 is a descendant of the original. But if that's the case, then it changes a pivotal scene in Wonder Woman because Steve told Diana flat out he didn't have a family - unless he lied to her!
Related: It's A Great Idea To Have Steve Trevor In Wonder Woman 2
If the Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman 1984 turns out to be the World War I spy's grandson, it will completely upend how Diana feels about her lost love - because it would shed light on the fact that she didn't really know him at all. Here is what we do and don't know about the mysterious spy and how his return could end up reframing the original film:
- This Page: Is Steve Trevor A Liar?
- Page 2: Is Wonder Woman 2's Steve Trevor The Original's Grandson?
Who Is Steve Trevor?
The info fans have about Steve Trevor's history is the same as Diana's: He was a Captain in the United States Army Air Service working for the UK military as a spy during World War I (his serial number was 8141921). He infiltrated a German base and discovered the plot by General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and Isabel Maru/Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) to attack the allied forces with deadly nerve gas. Trevor stole Maru's notebook and an airplane, made his escape, but was pursued by the Germans and shot down near Themyscria, where he met Princess Diana and the Amazons. Diana accompanied him back to "Man's World", believing that Ares was the cause of the war, to fulfill her destiny to kill the god of war. Along the way, Diana and Steve fell in love, and Trevor sacrificed his life to help end the war.
However, information about Steve's past and his private life is scarce. In the companion book Wonder Woman: The Art And Making Of The Film, Chris Pine shared his thoughts on Steve's background:
With Steve, I always viewed it that he probably had been in love before and he probably did have a lady, maybe even had a family, and lost that to this awful conflict. The thought of falling in love is so painful for him that he could not allow himself to do it. It had to be about a mission, it had to be God and country, but it could not be him and what he wanted.
The actor's perspective is interesting. While this could merely be Pine providing himself a framework in order to get under the skin of his character, it's also a glimpse into Steve's mysterious past. After all, he didn't just become a spy for no reason - something spurred Trevor to leave America and fight in the deadliest war the world had ever known. Did Steve's sense of duty actually cost him a family left behind back home?
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Did Steve Lie To Diana?
While Diana's transformation into Wonder Woman in the No Man's Land battle sequence is epic and memorable, arguably the film's best scene - certainly the most romantic - occurs after Diana, Steve and their allies liberated the Belgian town of Veld. Celebrating during a nighttime snowfall, Steve and Diana danced together and spoke about what life is like for people in "Man's World" when they're not fighting a war. When Diana asked Steve what it's like for people to "get married, make some babies, [and] grow old together", Steve replied, "I have no idea."
But was Steve telling the truth? (After all, there was no magic Lasso of Truth wrapped around him at that moment.) It's possible he was honestly stating he has no idea what being a family man is like. However, going by how Pine conceived his character's past, Steve may have left a lady behind when he went off to war and committed himself only to the mission. If this is indeed the case, then one of two things happened: either the woman had a child that Steve knew about or Steve left and had no knowledge she had a child. Tragically, he died in the war before he could return to America. Otherwise, Steve simply lied to Diana by omission; but this is also a character trait of Steve Trevor because as a spy, he is trained to lie.
While Diana loved Steve and silently mourned his memory for the next century, it could be that Steve's past, which he never revealed, comes back to confront her in Wonder Woman 1984. And this would totally change the nature of their romantic interlude in Veld.
Page 2: Is Wonder Woman 2's Steve Trevor The Original's Grandson?
Is Wonder Woman 2's Steve Trevor The Original's Grandson?
The Steve Trevor whom Diana meets in Wonder Woman 1984 might turn out to be the original's grandson. While this sounds far-fetched and stretches the bounds of credibility, this potential switcheroo is rooted in the 1970s Wonder Woman TV series, which was already a big inspiration for parts of the first film. The first season was set in World War II with Diana Prince serving as a Yeoman to Col. Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) but seasons 2 and 3 were set during the 70's and saw Diana working as a secret agent alongside Steve Trevor's son, who shared the exact same name and looked identical because he was also played by Waggoner. Along with a potential cameo by Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman 1984 could be offering a grand homage to the fondly-remembered TV series if the new Steve is the original's descendant and doppelganger.
How all of this would work is the compelling part. Steve died in 1918, so it's possible the mysterious woman he left behind had a child who went on to sire Steve's grandson. If Steve Trevor II was born around 1954, that would make him about 30 years old when Diana encounters him, meaning he would be the roughly the right age (and shockingly, the spitting image) of the Steve she knew.
Related: What Justice League Told Us About Steve Trevor's Return
This would then lead to numerous questions for the film to address: What kind of person is Steve's grandson? Is he a hero like the original or is he secretly a villain? Would he have any knowledge whatsoever about his grandfather's exploits, death, and his brief romance with Wonder Woman? Similarly, did Diana ever look into Steve's past (even by simply asking their mutual friends or his secretary Etta Candy) or did she comfort herself with the memory of the man she knew and left his secrets alone?
Most importantly, what will happen if all of this comes true and Diana is suddenly confronted with the identical grandson of the man she lost almost 70 years ago? This revelation would immediately call into question everything Steve told her about himself and may alter how she feels about him - which would create a new dimension to each time Trevor's memory is invoked in Batman V Superman and Justice League.
Or Is It The Real Steve Trevor After All?
However, 1984's Trevor could be the "real" Steve from the original film, which is what Patty Jenkins has indicated. Diana and Steve's romance was one of the fans' favorite aspects of Wonder Woman, and their reunion would not only be welcomed (as long as it is adequately explained), but it would also amusingly reverse the Fish Out of Water scenario, with Diana as the expert in the modern world and a time-tossed Steve struggling to understand what, to him, is the future (not unlike that other Steve in the MCU). However, with Batman V Superman and Justice League set 30 years after Wonder Woman 2, Steve Trevor is dead again (or at least presumed so) every time he has been referenced so that offers a dark clue about what becomes of the former spy.
Whatever direction Wonder Woman 1984 pursues to resurrect Steve Trevor, it can't help but reframe the first film, Fans may never be able to look at Diana and Steve dancing in Veld in the same way. The return of Diana's first and greatest love will turn her world upside down no matter what - especially if she tragically loses him again.