A new report details that director Patty Jenkins and actress Gal Gadot’s upcoming Wonder Woman 1984 film will feature parallels between Donald Trump and villain Maxwell Lord and that the main villain of the film is actually capitalism.
The ’80s
Speaking with Collider on a visit to the film’s set, Jenkins compared the film’s time period to the current day claiming that the United States is paying the price for the sins of the 80s.
Jenkins told Collider, “It was particularly the ’80s because of the fact that that was the height of everything we’re now paying the price for.”
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She continues, “It was like we thought for sure it could go on forever and there was going to be no price and you could just [have] exponential growth. Then it could keep going, and all of this excess. And so I think in that way we’re talking about then and we’re also talking about right now. We’re talking about what we’re dealing with right now because that struggle is very much alive in our own psyche.”
The film’s Associate Producer Anna Obropta would hint at why they chose the year 1984 for the film’s title. She notes that it “was at the peak of [America’s] power and its pride.” She continued, “It was everything commercialism, passion, wealth, even violence was in excess. It was a decade of greed and desire.”
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Obropta would added, “It was humanity at its best and at its worst.”
When asked whether it referred to George Orwell’s famous novel, Producer Charles Roven responded, “We should have that conversation after you’ve seen the film.”
Wonder Woman 1984 Villains
Collider’s Nick Romano would go on to report that the real enemy of the film is capitalism. He writes, “Who is the villain of this next chapter? Well, there are multiple antagonists, but the real enemy, one might argue, is capitalism.”
As for the villains outside of capitalism, if it hasn’t been obvious before, they are Maxwell Lord played by The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal and Cheetah played by Kristen Wiig.
Romano described Pascal’s Lord as “the king of phony informercials. If people are chasing after dreams of wealth, power, and fame, then Max is selling those dreams.”
Associate Producer Anna Obropta describes his character as a “desperate, self-obsessed, fraudulent entrepreneur who runs a business selling the American Dream.”
As for Barbara Minerva also known as Cheetah, Romano explains she is “beguiled by this illusion and eventually corrupted by it.” He later adds that she falls victim to one of Max’s schemes.
Obropta details, “At first look, it is a dream come true.” She adds that she “feels physically stronger. She feels more seen and respected in the world, but her power takes a very fast, very dark turn as she transforms into this vicious and savage creature, like nothing we could have ever imagined.”
As for Diana’s reaction to this? Gadot explains that she sees all the “bad things that that are being done in order to get to the top. I think she doesn’t like that so much: the price that people are willing to pay in order to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve. But other than this, I think [Diana] loves the ’80s. Great hair, she’s rocking the hair and styles, it’s great.”
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Interestingly enough, Romano would describe these bad things as “greed” providing evidence that his initial description of the film’s main villain as capitalism in actuality is greed, two different concepts.
Donald Trump and Maxwell Lord
Romano would then detail that the film will have parallels to Donald Trump through the character of Maxwell Lord. He makes this connection while referencing a meeting with the film’s costume designer Lindy Hemming.
He writes, “Expect parallels between Max and Trump. Photos of the fired reality TV star with a trail of bankruptcy filings adorn costume designer Lindy Hemming’s work space.”
Hemming also notes that the parallel exists. She tells Romano that Lord’s costumes are inspired by Trump. She then adds, “Well, that’s helpful to look at, isn’t it? There is something about the period of Donald Trump and being a businessman, of being rather sleazy a little bit, and a bit goofy and a lot of talk. So that’s why he’s there. There’s more but I ought to just…” Romano claims she doesn’t finish her sentence.
What do you make of this report from Collider regarding Wonder Woman 1984 and its parallels with Donald Trump? What do you make of capitalism being the villain of the film?