Currently, the upcoming The Flash seems set to tell the story of Flashpoint, a comic book event that massively altered the continuity of the DC multiverse. This could present a good opportunity for the DCEU to have a soft reboot of sorts, especially since some of their films heavily contradict with one another, especially Wonder Woman 1984.
While the film is not out yet, the trailers for the upcoming movie have already presented multiple plot holes that go against the canon that's been established by previous films. The continuity is a mess, but by setting the Wonder Woman sequel in a Post-Flashpoint world, the DCEU can fix its massive inconsistencies.
What Is Flashpoint?
The 2011 comic arc, story by Geoff Johns and art by Andy Kubert, was a major event in DC comics, significantly altering the multiverse. Barry Allen, aka The Flash, wakes up to find everything around him has changed. His powers are gone, his mother is alive, and the Justice League and Superman seemingly never existed. Batman is now Thomas Wayne, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are engaging in war with one another. In short, Barry's found himself in a new timeline.
Barry later discovers he actually went back to the past to save his mother, causing a fracture in the timeline that changed the lives of everyone he knows. He eventually fixes this by going back in time to prevent this, but in the process, he creates a new DC reality known as "The New 52." If DCEU wants to have a soft reboot for the characters without completely disregarding the previous films, this seems like a perfectly good way to do this.
Diana Wasn't Wonder Woman for a Century
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, tells Bruce Wayne that she walked away from mankind a hundred years ago; although, that appears to no longer be the case, as seen in Wonder Woman 1984. One way for DC to work around this plot hole without having to retcon the past films is to set the Wonder Woman sequel after the events of a Flashpoint like event. Just like in Flashpoint, this could alter Wonder Woman's character enough that she continues to be a hero post-World War I instead of going off the grid for decades.
Another problem exists with her being an active superhero in 1984 as there seems to have been no record of her activities, heroic or not, after World War I. The trailers show Wonder Woman at the White House, and surely there must have been a lot of eyes and even surveillance on her here. It would have taken a huge conspiracy to cover up an incident as high profile as this one, especially since even Batman and Lex Luthor struggled to find much on her after World War I.
Her Weapons Are Gone
One very glaring omission from the trailers are Diana's signature sword and shield. While her sword was destroyed toward the end of her first film, she later returns with a new sword and a shield to fight Doomsday in Dawn Of Justice. Like with many of the DCEU's plot inconsistencies, this can possibly be explained with Flashpoint. Since a new timeline is created when the event happened, it would not be too far fetched to think that Wonder Woman 1984 could be taking place in a new timeline where these weapons are no longer at her disposal; however, Gal Gadot does provide another explanation for the missing weapons.
"Wonder Woman does not carry a weapon. We had an intention to let go of the sword, because there’s something very aggressive with a sword. If you have a sword, it means you need to use it," Gadot says. "We didn’t feel that the shield was necessary either. She’s a goddess, she can fight, she’s super strong, and she has the skills."
While this is the intent of the filmmakers, it doesn't change the fact that removing the sword and shield from the film comes off as a huge inconsistency. Potentially the movie could present a believable, in world explanation for this, but as of now, chalking it up to Flashpoint could also work.
Steve Trevor is Alive
One of the biggest surprises in the first trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 is the return of her love interest, Steve Trevor, who was killed in the last film. With The Flash likely introducing multiple realities and timelines, a possible explanation could be that this Steve is displaced from somewhere else in the timeline or universe.
Without the movie being released, it cannot be determined how or why Steve is in this sequel. There could be a number of explanations the plot could reveal; however, until the film is out, fans can theorize all they want about what brought Steve to 1984. Currently, Flashpoint seems like the most believable explanation.
Directed and co-written by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal and Natasha Rothwell. The film arrives in theaters Dec. 25.