6 Ways Patty Jenkins Can Explain How Steve Trevor is Alive in Wonder Woman 1984

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Jun 15, 2018
Chris Pine as Steve Trevor in "Wonder Woman" - Warner Bros.

Chris Pine is returning as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman: 1984! An incredibly exciting prospect that could be the first of many changes to the DCEU history after Justice League. Pine and Gal Gadot’s chemistry was one of the many amazing aspects of the original film. It’s no surprise Patty Jenkins wants to see that on-screen at least one more time. The picture that confirmed Pine’s presence is hilarious 80’s. The movie already looks to be a fun and colorful glimpse into a time not-too-long past.

But Steve Trevor looks pretty good for a guy who supposedly died in a plane crash roughly 65-68 years prior to the events of the film. Many have speculated that Pine would come back, but the how remains mysterious. DC is going to be careful to avoid comparisons to Captain America, but that only limits the flying the plane into a glacier route. Thankfully, DC knows what made the first film work. It doesn’t diminish Wonder Woman (2017) for Steve Trevor to return for its sequel. But it will diminish Wonder Woman: 1984, if they don’t have a good reason for it. Giving a funny, endearing or dramatic explanation for his return from the dead could make or break the sequel.

To prepare you for the crazy theories and stories to come, let’s break down just how Steve Trevor made his way to 1984.

6. Disguise

Trickery is pretty common when it comes to Hollywood blockbusters. They take pride in fooling audiences until the very last second, unless something leaks beforehand. But it usually doesn’t happen on this scale. If someone is pretending to be Steve Trevor in 1984, they’re doing a great job. Whether or not that person has fooled Diana remains to be seen in the film, but the filmmakers might still be trying to fool us. It’s a weird thought To think that could be some wolf in our favorite soldiers’ clothing. It wouldn’t be the worst idea DC and Warner Bros. could think of, but they’d have quite a lot of explaining to do.

It’s also something we saw in the original Wonder Woman. Ares was actually David Thewlis’ Sir Patrick and not Danny Huston’s German officer Ludendorf. Could Steve Trevor be another Greek God in disguise?

5. Time Travel

This is probably a bad idea, no matter how you do it. Trevor was certainly in that plane when audiences, and Diana, last saw him. But that doesn’t mean some being or power wasn’t able to warp him out at the very last second. Whatever force or person did that might have known the significance that Trevor would have for the future of the DC Universe, or more specifically the future of Wonder Woman. 

Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman - Warner Bros.

Since Wonder Woman: 1984 is the first full production under the new reign of DC President Walter Hamada, don’t expect any insane time-warping characters like Booster Gold or Wally West to be the reason for his reappearance. Even though yet another comic character is coming back from the dead, it’s probably going to be as grounded in reality as possible. Time Travel would explain his age, but it doesn’t exactly fit for Patty Jenkins’ vision.

4. Robot

This is probably the most ridiculous possibility of all, but it needs to be entertained. For a couple of reasons. What if Steve Trevor were some sort of synthetic or robotic creation? If anyone knows Wonder Woman’s history, they could probably discover that she loved Steve Trevor. Creating a robot would be an easy way to get to the powerful heroine, a more likely possibility than Diana commissioning the robo-Steve’s creation.

Still, do you know what film happened to come out in 1984? The Terminator. The original Arnold Schwarzenegger classic is literally about a robot perfectly disguising themselves in synthetic skin. Once again, this is as “far-out” as they come, but if Jenkins is a fan of James Cameron, all of these references could lead to a robotic addition to the Wonder Woman sequel.

3. Hallucination

Consider this another unlikely idea. It’s plausible that Diana could start to be guided by some force, or delusion, taking the shape of Steve. He was important to her and may be the only male love interest she’s had in her long and storied life. It would make sense for any personal or literal demons of hers to want to take the shape of the person that would hurt her the most. The most likely reason that Patty Jenkins announced Steve Trevor’s return for Wonder Woman: 1984 is to get out ahead of leaks and behind-the-scenes photos.

But more importantly, it probably means he’s going to be in a significant amount of the film. It seems like they expected his presence to be spoiled at some point, hence the fairly early announcement. If he were making a cameo as a ghost, vision, or hallucination they probably would have saved the reveal for the Opening Weekend.

2. Clone or Descendant

We’ve officially entered the realm of likely possibilities. A few things happened when Chris Pine was cast as Steve Trevor. First, a million fans cried for the Hal Jordan performance that would never be. Second, people wondered how an actor that was likely signed on for multiple films would survive World War I. The film all but confirmed he died. So the biggest theory from the get-go has been that this would be Trevor’s son or Grandson, who just so happens to look exactly like his ancestor. Let’s not kid ourselves, having Chris Pine pass for his own descendant isn’t the craziest plot element superhero movies have asked us to believe.

In fact, one thing to note about the recently released picture is that Trevor looks a few years older. That’s not just because Pine himself has aged, give modern make-up artists more credit than that. There’s a chance that this descendant of Steve Trevor is older than Diana when they knew each other, or that this clone was created a few years prior to the film. The spy was a rather important asset to the Allied Forces in the War. Would it be so crazy to think that they kept his DNA so as to clone him someday?

1. Magic

Steve Trevor

This is, by far, the most likely answer to the Steve Trevor question. Magic is a huge part of the Wonder Woman Universe. The power she wields, the beauty of Themiscyra, all of this comes from Magic. Well, it turns out a new villain will be joining Wonder Woman in her sequel: Cheetah. Kristen Wiig is bringing the character to life, and the performance is highly-anticipated. But Patty Jenkins and the rest of her team are going to have to explain those powers too, which will most likely stem from some ancient magic.

It wouldn’t technically be time travel if some form of magic had plucked Steve from the plane at the very last second. It could merely be a force fulfilling Diana’s wish in the film. If DC Films and Warner Bros. are going to start making changes to the current DC Universe, there’s no reason they can’t bring Steve Trevor back for good. Not as some vision, not as some short-lived clone she gets teased with. As a genuine, tangible person she gets to love. Someone right in front of her. Hopefully, Steve Trevor actually’s return to the Wonder Woman’s life isn’t temporary. Audiences, and Diana Prince, deserve it.

Which of these theories do you think is most likely? Are there any theories you think are more plausible that I didn’t cover?

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