With the original Wonder Woman movie, director Patty Jenkins was able to explore in detail not just the superheroine, but the island of Amazons she hails from. In the trailer for the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, audiences return to the island to see what appears to be an Olympics-style physical tournament taking place. In a new interview, Jenkins explains how the tournament is a tribute to the previous film.

"What I love about the Amazon Olympics is everything that we got to really celebrate in the first movie. Here are these people who are incredibly powerful and capable, but different in how they approach things. If you've been training for hundreds of years because of an impending invasion, you're going to be constantly working on all these skill sets. So, to me, every year, they would have these Olympics to see who's doing the best on horses or swimming the fastest, and seeing new tricks people have figured out."

The success of the original Wonder Woman has kickstarted a lucrative franchise for DC Comics, and Jenkins has many ideas about the direction in which she wants to take the series, including a possible cartoon series spinoff.

"You're enjoying the movie you're making and also reflecting on what could be different or better in the [real] world. And therefore what story you want to tell. That's the greatest thing to me about superhero stories. You're able to have a dialogue about what a hero would be right now. So yes, I have ideas for what I'd like to say, and Gal does too."

For now, Jenkins and Gadot are busy promoting Wonder Woman 1984, which sees Diana Prince dealing with the issues of the day in the 80's, while grappling with the combined threat of Maxwell Lord and The Cheetah. Steve Trevor also makes his re-entry into the series after seemingly dying in the previous film. In past interviews, Gadot had explained that the upcoming film can be viewed as a standalone feature, with little to do with its prequel.

"[In this film, Diana has] been living for over six decades by herself, in man's world, serving mankind and doing good. And this story is a story of its own. I mean, the only thing that we share in both stories is probably, you know, the fact that it's Diana Prince and also Steve Trevor. But other than that, it's a whole new world, and the era is different, and Diana is different, and the story is new."

Directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars Gal Gadot in the lead, alongside Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, and Natasha Rothwell. The film is expected to arrive in theaters on Oct. 2, provided the release date is not pushed back yet again, as has been happening with every major film as Hollywood and film theater chains struggle to get back to their feet in a post-lockdown world. This news comes from Empire Online.

Wonder Woman 1984 Amazon Olympics Photo