"Wonder Woman 1984" Star Gives Major Praise to Kristen Wiig's Cheetah
gal gadot describes cheetah as
”my favorite villain”
By: Keaton Marcus
Cheetah, one of Wonder Woman’s most iconic foes, is finally coming to the big screen with Wonder Woman 1984, the upcoming sequel to the smash hit 2017 superhero flick. Star Gal Gadot has described her as “my favorite villain” recently.
In the new movie, the villain is played by Kristen Wiig, known best for comedies like Bridesmaids, and the particularly raunchy adult animated movie Sausage Party. We’ve seen her in two trailers, and we got a first suit look, which does, sadly, bring back memories of 2019’s CATS.
Still, Wiig is a terrific and charismatic actress, so she has a solid chance of saving this role from disaster. And since Cheetah just got some major praise from Diana herself, we are all getting excited for this highly anticipated follow-up.
Supposedly WW 1984 is taking many Cheetah comics storylines and meshing them together for one that’s uniquely suited for the movie. In the earlier section of the film, Wiig’s villain will still be the human Barbara Ann Minerva, an iteration that was first introduced in 1987’s Wonder Woman #7.
“I think they’re both lonely, and Diana sees Barbara’s insecurity and it touches her. And also Diana kind of sees things that she misses in her life in Barbara—her humor—her light…Diana really makes her feel good when she’s next to her,” Gadot explained at on the set of Wonder Woman 1984 in August 2018.
However, Maxwell Lord’s (the villain) seductive promise to Barbara makes her become the next antagonist in the DC Universe. Gadot teases a seriously great performance from Wiig as Cheetah “turns 180 degrees—and she’s incredible.” These quotes from the rising superstar promise that Wiig creates a likable character with a menacing turn.
Gadot further praised her performance, saying that “working with Kristen Wiig was such an amazing experience. She’s funny and she’s sensitive…it’s a villain that you love. You understand where she’s coming from. She plays her in such an interesting, charming way.”
During a Q&A with Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Wiig herself said “I’ve never really played someone who walks into the room and owns it—especially when she starts out so insecure and self-deprecating. We didn’t want to see Barbara in Cheetah, and I didn’t want to see Kristen in Cheetah, either.”
Recently, a short teaser for WW 1984 was dropped that focused on Barbara’s transformation. “I don’t want to be like anyone. I want to be an apex predator.” This is expected to be a snippet of a full trailer WB will likely drop during the Wonder Woman 1984 panel for DC FanDome on August 22.
Otherwise, the film is expected to be released in theaters on October 2, 2020 after being pushed back from earlier this month due to the pandemic.
