Wonder Woman 1984 will finally make its long-awaited debut in a little under two weeks, and thanks to a new spot hyping up the HBO Max Release, audiences have been given their best look yet at Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah.
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The international trailer features a voice-over telling a young Diana Prince on Themyscira that she will one day become all that she dreams.
“The time will come, Diana,” says the voice. “This world is not yet ready for all that you will do.”
https://youtu.be/FSY5V3IeNUo
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If these lines aren’t cut from the film, they are probably uttered by Hippolyta or Antiope at the beginning of the film in the flashback which, according to rumored spoiler leaks, opens the film. In the supposed flashback, Young Diana runs an obstacle course with the rest of the Amazons but is caught cheating.
The spot showcases a number of clips, such as Wonder Woman swinging into action and fresh looks at Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal). Most likely, again going by the alleged leaks, these quick flashes of Lord and Cheetah come from the climax of the film, which appears to be a final battle set at a communications bunker.
However, the glimpse that has everybody buzzing is the shot of an armored Diana fighting against a fully-feral Cheetah.
Though a visually dark version of the clip was first seen at DC FanDome back in August, this new spot provides a higher-quality shot of Cheetah with the brightness turned up:
Related: New Wonder Woman 1984 Images Released – Includes Showdown Between Wonder Woman and Cheetah
Cinematically, the scene featuring Cheetah’s ‘final form’ is lit much more darkly in order to hide what’s clearly a full-CG creation from thrusting audiences into the uncanny valley. Kristen Wiig looks pretty good in the visual effect, so director Patty Jenkins and the film’s VFX team should have nothing to worry about on that end.
In fact, it seems that following Cheetah’s first reveal during the FanDome trailer, the film’s production team has taken some time to clean-up and improve her appearance.
For comparison, here is a screenshot from the FanDome trailer:
Related: Wonder Woman 1984’s New Trailer Debuts at DC FanDome, Gives Away Cheetah’s Final Look
Despite the lower resolution and the increased saturation of darkness, it’s rather apparent that this version of Cheetah looks more like a video game mid-boss than a villain featured in a large superhero blockbuster.
Thanks to merchandising leaks, particularly of mugs and notebooks related to the film, Wiig’s appearance as the metahuman cat lady has been known months in advance. However, had Wonder Woman 1984 stuck to any of its pre-December release dates, this merchandise would have been timely rather than spoiler-containing.
The film finally lands on HBO Max and in theaters on Christmas Day.