Wonder Woman 1984 will be largely independent from the greater DC Extended Universe. During a set visit attended by CBR, producer Charles Roven discussed the film's involvement with the DCEU at length, explaining how and why it acts more as a standalone than another installment of the wider universe launched by Man of Steel.
Asked if the film will tie into the larger DCEU, Roven said, "No. One of the things that [director] Patty [Jenkins] has -- and I don't know what's going to happen in the future because we don't even know where this could go, but specifically she wanted to make sure that we had the character in the universe that was standalone, so that we could continue her character without having to weave the other characters. We wanted to just make sure we could deal with her themes."
"We haven't finished telling her story. We wanted to concentrate on her. We felt that if we didn't pick a time before, let's say, the DC Universe started with Man of Steel because everything evolved from that, when we were doing everything that dealt with the time after that. We felt that we just needed to focus on her like we did on Wonder Woman," he added.
He also addressed how Wonder Woman appears in public in 1984, since she made her global debut during Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's events in 2016. "Those events are way after this," he said. "You don't have to worry about that. What I think is a legitimate comment, and you'll see how we deal with it and it'll either work for you or it won't, she has ways of dealing with it, right? She definitely does deal with it. You'll definitely see how she handles it in a number of circumstances. Nevertheless, there's still rumors about her, but nobody can prove it."
"Again, you don't have to worry about anything post this film because everything happens in this film happens between Wonder Woman and this film, right? However Steve Trevor finishes in this movie, they're still from 1984 to, what is it, 2017 to deal with whatever happens to Steve Trevor after that," he continued. "But you just have to see where he ends up at the end of this film, right?"
"You can look at it as a standalone because those things are irrelevant because the entire timeframe of the film happens in Themyscira in a place where time doesn't exist. Also, everything that takes place in the film happens from, let's just say, Armistice Day until the end of this movie, which is still in 1984," he concluded.
Although the DCEU launched with Man of Steel in 2013, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman didn't debut until Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice three years later. In this film, she appeared in present day as a curator at the Louvre Museum. Because Lex Luthor determined her true identity using her infamous World War I photo, she tracked him down in Metropolis to steal it back. This led her to become involved in his plot to pit Batman and Superman against each other, and so she was able to join them in their fight against Doomsday when the time came. Both the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel were equally surprised when she showed up.
Following Batman v Superman, Diana and Bruce kept in touch with one another up through 2017's Justice League. So, when Steppenwolf attempted to invade Earth, he called on her and a few other superheroes to help him stop it. It wasn't until this film that her identity as a superhero and as Wonder Woman was known to the public at large.
Wonder Woman 1984, of course, takes place in the year mentioned in the title. This has led many to question the DCEU timeline, as this film sees Diana act as a hero long before her public outing in Justice League. However, as Roven revealed here, the film has taken this into consideration and gives her "ways of dealing with it." While he didn't provide any specific details, he indicated no one could prove her existence as Wonder Woman at this time, despite rumors about her miraculous feats. As such, the film appears to acknowledge the timeline established by earlier DCEU films, while building an independent story around it.
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 Oct. 2.