Director Patty Jenkins almost debuted Cheetah in Wonder Woman before the character's proper introduction in Wonder Woman 1984. Played Kristen Wiig, the character will be one of Diana Prince's (Gal Gadot) newest foes — the other one being Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), who is a powerful businessman in the comics. Not much is known regarding Barbara Ann Minerva's characterization in the upcoming sequel, but as it turns out, she almost made an appearance in the 2017 DCEU film.

Initially slated to release last November, Wonder Woman 1984 has been delayed multiple times for varying reasons. It's currently scheduled to hit theaters this October after it was once again pushed back from August due to the coronavirus pandemic. As its latest release date nears, more and more information is coming out about it, including an interesting tidbit from Jenkins about her original plans for Cheetah.

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Speaking with Cinema Blend as part of their set visit interview two years ago, the director reveals that they almost debuted Cheetah at the beginning of Wonder Woman. She didn't explain why they ultimately decided against the idea, but this proves that they've been long set on using her as the sequel's villain. Read her full quote below:

Knowing we wanted Cheetah… I think we even talked about wanting Cheetah to show up in the beginning of the last movie cause we were going to even plant her in the first one. So it was kind of forming up for a long time.

Wonder Woman 1984 Trailer Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva

While Jenkins didn't reveal the reason why they didn't push through with Cheetah's supposed Wonder Woman introduction, cutting the idea makes sense considering how it would've complicated things. The original film began in the modern times on the heels of the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Given this, it would've been possible to include Minerva in this brief segment. They could've established her and Diana being colleagues, which may end up being the case in Wonder Woman 1984. However, based on what's known about the sequel, the two women would've had a falling out in the '80s. Granted that they may be able to move past their initial conflict, it's just too complicated for an origin movie.

In conjunction with that, introducing Cheetah at the beginning of Wonder Woman would've taken some focus away from Diana's origin story, which could've backfired. Instead of the straightforward origin story that both fans and critics loved, the blockbuster could've suffered potential backlash for being more focused on setting up sequels than crafting a grand standalone story for its titular character. Depending on how Jenkins wanted to do this idea, it's curious if this meant that they also had to cast an actress for the role.

In any case, what's clear is they had enough faith in Wonder Woman that they were willing to plan for follow-ups before it was even released. Ultimately, it's a good thing that they decided against it; now, they can adequately introduce Cheetah in the sequel. Perhaps fans can see more of Minerva when a brand new trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 inevitably debuts at DC FanDome.

More: Actors Who Almost Played DCEU's Wonder Woman

Source: Cinema Blend

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