Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman is making huge waves financially and critically, winning over fans who saw the DCEU as bleak, grim and somewhat lifeless, especially compared to the MCU. Praise keeps pouring in for how it paints the story of Diana of Themyscira as she moves into the world of man to try to stem their lust for war. The origins story was brought to life by Gal Gadot as the lead, focusing on her meeting Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and subsequently going on a quest to find and end the threat of Ares, God of War, on the world.
RELATED: 13 Ways Wonder Woman SAVED The DCEU (And 3 Ways The Movie DOOMED It)
In doing so, we got a period piece that was visually stunning and really added meat to what we saw when the character debuted in Batman vs. Superman. We understood who she was, where she came from and just why she sought the light amid a dark world. With universal praise still rolling in, it's clear the positives outweigh the negatives of this film, which cleverly helps set up the Justice League as they prep for the arrival of Darkseid's minions. With that in mind, CBR decided to look at 15 things we'd love to see when Jenkins and Gadot eventually bring a sequel to life.
Spoiler warning: Major spoilers ahead for the Wonder Woman film
15 RETURN TO THEMYSCIRA
It was very inspirational yet heartbreaking to see Diana leave her people behind to go save mankind. However, it was a necessary move. We would love to see her returning home to witness how Hippolyta and the other Amazons coped since. She's not just Diana anymore but now, she's Wonder Woman, so the reception should be interesting.
Given that the Amazons were justified regarding the evil of men, there's a dichotomy to be explored in how Wonder Woman plans to keep using love as a main driver of fighting for justice. Hippolyta was right and so is Diana, so it's an intriguing angle to see if she can sway her people, have them empathize or at least show compassion. A motherly reunion alone is worth the ticket, or to see if she's branded a traitor by those who didn't approve of her leaving.
14 UPGRADED BATTLE ARMOR
If Wonder Woman is to be facing threats such as Apokolips' armies, a suit upgrade (or at least alternating suits) wouldn't be such a bad thing so that her look doesn't get stale in the DCEU. In fact, if it's evolved into something more along the lines of battle armor, then even better! It ought to be more practical, exposing less because, let's face it, even though she appears to be immortal with the blood of Gods in her veins, she can still be wounded.
If she's armored up, it shouldn't be to the point where she loses that iconic look though. It's not about drastic changes, as per when DC gave her pants and a jacket, but rather about covering up more skin to build upon her warrior look. At the end of the day, as long as she remains an Amazonian ass-kicker, that's all that matters.
13 MORE MYTHICAL MONSTERS
Given her Greek ties to Zeus, a demigod needs to fight monsters! We're looking at behemoths and leviathans for Wonder Woman to face a la Clash of the Titans. How awesome would it be to see Diana going up against harpies, a giant cyclops, minotaurs, krakens, titans, Cerberus and so many more from Greek mythology? That's what makes her epic and it added a lot of flair to the comics.
We may have to settle for enemies like Medusa or even Cheetah, but villains tied strongly to one's roots always elicit more emotions, crafting both mental and physical threats. Having Diana tackle these creatures which shaped Zeus' realm would show her how tough her father had it and just why he looked to the creation of man as an outlet. Plus, the DCEU needs more creatures outside of mortal man's scientific (Doomsday) or mystical experiments (Enchantress) gone awry.
12 NO MORE BRUCE WAYNE
The DCEU smartly played up Bruce Wayne as a key figure in establishing Diana in Batman vs. Superman, even teasing a little romance, and it extended nicely into Wonder Woman where we saw him sending the lost photo of her squad in World War I to her. From the Justice League trailers, it's also clear they will be assembling the heroic posse, so let's try to ensure there isn't overkill of this relationship in the future.
She's proven she can more than stand on her own and no longer needs Batman to bring her dynamic to the masses. If anything, after saving Superman and Batman from Doomsday, and her lengthy experience in being a superhero, she should be looked to as the true leader. Diana doesn't need the World's Finest to prop her up, so let's keep the sequel all about her.
11 MORE DIPLOMACY
One of Wonder Woman's strongest segments was when Diana called out Steve's superiors on how uncaring they were in using soldiers as tools while they hid in offices and behind desks. She was a strong anti-war advocate, which reflects a lot on the sociopolitical climate of the real world today. However, she had to bear arms as Wonder Woman because in order to fight fire, sometimes you need to use fire.
Diana had to use force to try to stop the spread of war, but on the next go, it would be very powerful to see her follow up on this diplomatic stance, whether it be as an ambassador working with the United Nations or even the White House. Gadot's own heritage has this embroiled in it, so it wouldn't be new ground to explore, and for her to do this, we'd get another awesome plot turn with...
10 OUTING HER IDENTITY
A hero who doesn't hide behind the mask is a powerful statement. It shows they can't be intimidated and that they're indeed ideals and symbols. In Wonder Woman's case, she doesn't have any loved ones she has to worry about in the real world as they're either dead or on Paradise Island. Not every hero is afforded that luxury as they usually have civilian family to protect, so the DCEU should capitalize on this.
It's not like she'll turn out to be like Tony Stark who only went public in order to play up his genius and celebrity status. As Diana, she can go where there's minimal war and truly be an ambassador for good. That human face adds a warm, less intimidating and highly endearing feel, especially for kids, and makes mankind connect with her even more. It'll also elevate the sense of humanity within Diana.
9 MORE CAMEOS & EASTER EGGS
In the sequel, we'd love to see more cameos (especially Lynda Carter!) and easter eggs, not just for the Wonder Woman mythos, but for the greater DCEU. Jenkins' first movie didn't have as many, with the most prominent being Bruce (via a Wayne Industries van) sending Diana her photo. There were also nods to Christopher Reeve's Superman but in Zack Snyder's movies, we got way more connective tissue to a greater filmverse.
There are many avenues for this -- future Justice League members, civilian identities of heroes and nods to other realms such as the DC cosmic. The MCU films do this pretty well and Warner Bros. should be following suit to prove how expansive their world is, while still keeping a self-contained story. It's all fan service after all. Given the character's nature, the natural direction for these teases could even be a...
8 CROSSOVER WITH THE MAGICAL REALM
There are so many mystical elements within Diana's lore that it would be a shame if the DCEU kept things relegated to the likes of Shazam, Black Adam and Justice League Dark. Apart from all the magic and wonder of Greek mythology, Diana's journeys as a collector of ancient artifacts could see her acquiring so many trinkets that may allude to the likes of Felix Faust, Morgaine le Fay or even Etrigan the Demon.
In fact, a crossover with the latter would be amazing as both have a medieval sense of war within them. Gadot's first outing felt a lot like Captain America meets Thor so it would be cool to lean to the latter side of things. Oracles, magical teleportation and gems that the likes of A.R.G.U.S. stored in the books hold mouth-watering potential. Imagine Diana also hunting treasures a la Indiana Jones!
7 A ZEUS REUNION
This reunion has major potential because there's a strong chance Zeus may not like what mankind has devolved into. Given the high possibility that Ares' father survived his onslaught, we wouldn't put it past Zeus to be orchestrating or at least spectating everything like some kind of grand experiment. Zeus could be testing all his kids, including mankind, and shaping a path for a new generation of gods. He's a sinister character, so don't discount this!
If Diana finds that he wants her at his side, or that he wants to extinguish humanity, that would be quite a twist and lead to a huge conflict with the God-Killer princess. The tables would be turned with her now defending humanity from a hopeless and lost Zeus. Further emotional turmoil could erupt within Diana by testing this theory that maybe Ares was right after all.
6 THE INVISIBLE JET
Wonder Woman can't go flying around everywhere, can she? It surely would get tiring and also work against her if she wanted to maintain a secret identity, as she'd be easy to track while soaring through the open skies. It's about time the DCEU got that invisible jet of hers fueled up and on the tarmac! We're pretty sure there's some scientific angle Bruce can work to help her out and maybe even offer it to her as the most ideal gift in a potential courting situation.
That aside, an even easier aspect of cloaking a jet could simply be via the mystical realm. Diana may well have some gem or trinket to allow a jet to go undetected, and even if it's just in one scene, a little cameo or easter egg for this would be a most memorable moment. If she has a cloak of invisibility a la the Harry Potter franchise, why not put it to use?
5 LESS OF THE WAR ANGLE
This angle was flogged to death in the first film and it's all good because Ares was the main villain. However, while the God of War is now gone, it's a given that war will still exist, so let's not try to make this the big theme again. It's understood and will always be going on in the background, whether it's in Diana's solo adventures or as a Justice League member.
A new mission is needed so that the franchise can be kept fresh. If the character becomes an anti-war poster girl, things may begin feeling repetitive, so let it be secondary to things such as Diana finding her place in the world, looking for family, doubting humanity's penchant for good and so on, which can each make for a great future direction to take her in. The MCU's evolution of Steve Rogers laid out a great template for this.
4 WONDER WOMEN
The DCEU could look at expanding their 'Woman Power' stance by introducing Cassie Sandsmark a.k.a. Wonder Girl. They've toyed with her comic origins, from either being mystically powered up by artifacts or being Zeus' descendant, so Jenkins has a lot of room to fiddle with if she wants to give Diana a family member and someone to mentor in the real world. Cassie's a hit with Titans fans, so the fanbase is already there.
As for Donna Troy, she also held the Wonder Woman mantle at one point. She's had a lot of revisions to her comic origins as well, but a few routes could be the sister angle, or someone who doesn't accept Diana if she returns to Themyscira. She also feuded with Diana on a few occasions, so maybe a rogue Amazon hunting Wonder Woman could be a poignant story, similar to Davos hunting Danny Rand in Iron Fist.
3 THEMYSCIRA RETALIATING
After the first attack from the Germans in World War I, casualties were taken, but the Amazons still left mankind to their own devices. Diana was the only one who wanted to correct man's course of action, but her people more or less remained pacifists. Justice League has teased Parademons attacking them and the Atlanteans though, so could one more attack be the breaking point for Hippolyta's people?
It could lead to a civil war and mutiny on their end, or simply the Amazons could rise up and become official enemies of mankind, as per the tones we saw in the Flashpoint comic event. Diana fighting her people is enticing and we'd love to see them surprise everyone by advancing their weaponry and overall style of battle against invaders who underestimate them. If they aggressively souped their military stance up, expect a whole lotta trouble!
2 STEVE RESURRECTED
We're not usually proponents for resurrection, but the chemistry between Steve and Diana was off the charts. Honestly, he deserves a happier ending than what he received. Maybe he had to die in the first movie to really teach Diana about true love, but it's tough to see both of them robbed of that shot of happiness together.
In the comics, Trevor has also been a key player with the likes of Amanda Waller, A.R.G.U.S. and the Justice League as a liaison, so we'd love to have him return as a moral compass for Wonder Woman. Maybe Zeus plucked him from the sky before his suicide mission? Either way, returning him for a sequel would shake Diana's foundation up and throw her for a loop, because she'd be on a mission to save the world, so love may throw her off a bit. We hope not though.
1 A GODDESS UNLEASHED
We've seen Diana's powers of flight, healing and durability. We also saw Wonder Woman harnessing her father's power of lightning, but it's clear that she's still learning how to use these thunderbolts. Hopefully, we get to see more of this in Justice League, but come Jenkins' sequel, it would be amazing to see her in full goddess mode.
Maybe she'd be something closer to Zeus -- more confident and powered-up. It would be even more awesome if we could see her manipulating matter a la Ares, and using telepathy or telekinesis. That may be a bit much, but giving her these powers would truly test her resolve and just how much she relates to mankind. It would also stick to her heritage and truly give her a god complex, which we've seen Superman struggle with.
Let us know in the comments what you'd like to see in the Wonder Woman sequel!