Wonder Woman 1984 is finally heading into cinemas in summer 2020 and fans are eagerly awaiting Diana’s 1980s set adventure, with many eager to find out just how Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor has managed to come back from the dead. But right up there with that is how director Patty Jenkins plans to bring villainess Cheetah to the screen.
We know that she’s going to be played by Kristen Wiig, we know the broad strokes of her origin and we’ve seen on-set pictures of her in her pre-Cheetah alter ego of Barbara Minerva. But now we’ve finally got a look at Cheetah in a later stage of her transformation, courtesy of this licensed coffee cup, which you can see for yourself down below.
It seems Barbara Minerva has traded up the 80s nerd chic for a powerful leopard print jacket and pants combo, as well as getting a swish new hairdo. Given that in the comics Cheetah’s more of a human/cheetah hybrid, I expect this won’t be her final look in the movie, though they may be saving the full transformation for the climax.
The ting is, this whole arc seems weirdly reminiscent of Catwoman in both Batman Returns and Catwoman. Both of those movies saw a slightly awkward and dowdily dressed woman gain magical feline powers, before becoming a more sexy and confident version of themselves. Presumably, Patty Jenkins will be eager not to associate the character too closely with Catwoman (especially not the Halle Berry one), so perhaps this one image on a cup isn’t the best way to judge her.
Whatever the case proves to be with Cheetah, Wonder Woman 1984 may be in a spot of trouble. A recent test screening saw audience describing it as “really goofy, really campy and simple,” while others taking the opposite tack and saying it’s “too slow and plot-heavy.” But before you sound the film’s death knell, remember that Wonder Woman was described as a “discombobulated mess” midway through development, yet went on to gross $821 million. So, take this with a pinch of salt.