The conversation surrounding every bit of news pertaining to the new Wonder Woman movie—in fact, the first Wonder Woman movie to hit the big screen since her induction into the DC Comics canon in 1941—has thus far been relevant to the film’s place in a franchise and genre overwhelmingly dominated by male characters, stars, and behind-the-scenes operatives. As such, it might be a trifle vexing that the very first words to come from the very first trailer to release in promotion of the very first Wonder Woman movie are, “…You’re a man.†But don’t feel betrayed just yet.
Yes, the trailer, straight out of San Diego Comic-Con, kicks off with this curt introduction of U.S. Army soldier Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), after he has inscrutably washed up on the beach of her homeland of Themyscira. But this isn’t Trevor’s story; it doesn’t appear that we experience Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) and her strange and surreal world through his eyes, but instead that we’re given him as a catalyst for her entry into the mortal realm.
As you may recall from Batman v Superman, the world that Wonder Woman will experience here falls somewhere around the time of World War I—an era that, as the trailer indicates, apparently bemuses her in its savagery and brutality, not to mention backwards gender politics. In fact, the first line is a bit of an overt misdirect; much of Diana’s dialogue thereafter establishes her general estrangement from the margins that the contemporaneous world—and, sadly, ours today—thinks she should fall between.
This setting allows for what looks like a pretty stunning overall period aesthetic, both in production design and heightened reality action. Wonder Woman bounds between Central European battlefields and bunkers, proving far too complex a target for her primitive assailants.
What’s even more refreshing than the thoughtful nature of Patty Jenkins’ trailer is its moments of humor. Most of these come at the expense of Steve Trevor, or from the juxtaposition of Wonder Woman and the “normal world.” After a pair of DC Comics movies that didn’t so much buy into the comedy, I think fans will be delighted to see a few cracks tossed between Diana and Steve in this next venture.
All in all, we’re delighted by what we see here. But how about you? Let us know below what you think of the new Wonder Woman trailer!
Featured Image: Warner Bros
