The Villains in WONDER WOMAN 1984 Put Diana in Double Trouble

Diana has faced many enemies by the time we reach Wonder Woman 1984. She’s battled men and gods alike. However, she’ll be up against one of the greatest threats of all – greed. While some men want to watch the world burn, some would rather own it all their own. That’s where businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Barbara Minvera (Kristen Wiig) come in. With the two of them teaming up, will they be able to successfully take down the princess of Themyscira?

One of the most mysterious characters of the new film is definitely Maxwell Lord. In fact, we only learned that Pascal would be playing the role recently. In the comics, Lord is a wealthy businessman who was originally powerless only to gain metahuman abilities later on, such as telepathic influence. A power that could be incredibly beneficial (and dangerous) in the hands of someone like him. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we learn that In the film he’s a self-made man, a mogul and even a guru of sorts.

He’s a “dream seller”, according to Pascal. “It’s this character who encompasses a component of the era which is, you know, ‘Get whatever want, however you can. You’re entitled to it!’ And at any cost, ultimately, which represents a huge part of our culture and this kind of unabashed — it’s greed,” the actor told EW. From the trailer we can see him embracing that role, however there’s something more insidious about him. While he may sell dreams, what does he get in return? He may have those influential powers – but they don’t seem to work on Wonder Woman.

RELATED: Diana Gets a New Job (and New Armor) in WONDER WOMAN 1984

Barbara Minerva on the other hand falls hook, line, and sinker for Lord’s words. She starts the film off as a friend and co-worker of Diana at the Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. as a gemologist. However, her own ambition and greed sends her straight into the lion’s den (or in this case, the cheetah’s den). In the comics, she’s had a large history with either being straight enemies with Wonder Woman or friends turned enemies or still friends, despite her animalistic transition.

In all cases though, she transforms into a humanoid cheetah with incredible strength and agility with some powerful claws. Wiig, while initially unfamiliar with the character, has embraced the challenge of playing the dual role. “I’ve never really played someone who walks into the room and owns it — especially when she starts out so insecure and self-deprecating,” Wiig told the magazine. “We didn’t want to see Barbara in Cheetah, and I didn’t want to see Kristen in Cheetah, either.”

How these two meet up is still a bit of a mystery. Their team up, however, will certainly bring a large challenge to Wonder Woman. Since she “has the powers of a goddess, but she has the heart of a human”, according to Gadot, it’s likely that human heart will prove a challenge to truly take down a friend. It will be no surprise when Maxwell Lord takes advantage of that fact. How will she be able to overcome the two of them?

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Wonder Woman 1984 is directed by Patty Jenkins and written by Jenkins, Geoff Johns and David Callaham. The film stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Ravi Patel, Gabriella Wilde, Natasha Rothwell, Soundarya Sharma, and Kristoffer Polaha with Connie Nielson and Robin Wright. The film storms into theaters on June 5th, 2020.