Wonder Woman's Sequel Secrecy Had Kristen Wiig In A State Of Paranoia
In Patty Jenkins' bonkers superhero sequel "Wonder Woman 1984," a smarmy yuppie named Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) has discovered an ancient wishing stone that can grant him one wish, but only in exchange for something valuable to him. Maxwell, rather than making a wish, gets clever, wishing to absorb the powers of the stone, and become a wishing object himself. When someone touches him and makes a wish, he has the power to grant it, but can now make vocal demands in exchange. He essentially wishes for more wishes.
A mousy nerd named Barbara Minvera (Kristen Wiig), who works with Wonder Woman's secret identity Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), clearly has a crush on her, coveting Diana's assured demeanor. Barbara also has a chance to make a wish on the wishing stone and wishes to be more like Diana, not knowing that Diana is an immortal demigoddess with superpowers. Barbara's superpowers, however, go to her head, turning her into a snarling supervillain. Eventually, Barbara makes a second wish (at Maxwell Lord's urging) to become "an apex predator." For the film's final showdown, Barbara has transformed into a weird, furry cat person. Wiig's character was based on the 1987 Wonder Woman character Cheetah, a werecat
"Wonder Woman 1984" is a very strange, clunky, poorly written mess, and it features one of the worst Ronald Reagan impersonations imaginable. Wiig, however, is not at fault, as she brings a lot of energy to her role, playing against type as a super-powered cat monster. She's convincing as both a nebbish and a violent super-babe.
In talking to Gadot for Bazaar Magazine back in 2020, Wiig revealed that the secrecy surrounding a DC superhero movie was overwhelming, and she became instantly paranoid when she recklessly said the film's title out loud while on a phone call.
It's not easy being cheesy
When Wiig got the call from her agent, she already kind of knew what it was for. It seems that director Patty Jenkins, who had recently had a big hit with "Wonder Woman," was casting a new, high-profile, and super-mysterious project that she wanted to discuss with Wiig. What could it possibly be but a sequel to "Wonder Woman?" Wiig, however, blurted out that possibility without considering that Jenkins' representative wouldn't have been able to confirm or deny that. Wiig recalled:
"Well, it was mysterious because I got a call from my agent who said, 'Patty Jenkins wants to talk to you, but they won't say what it is — they won't say what the film or the role is.' I was like, 'Is it "Wonder Woman?"' I had to sign an NDA to even talk to Patty. I had to fly to London to do a camera test and read for the part, but I couldn't tell anyone, and I was so paranoid about it. I went by the rules, and said, 'I'm going to London for a thing and I can't talk about it and I'll be back in a few days.' I thought the Warner Brothers police would come knocking on my door."
Superhero blockbusters have, for the better part of 20 years, been the most secretive productions in Hollywood, often floating false scripts through the system just to hoodwink potential spoiler-mongers.
Most actors, like Wiig, are required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements, swearing that they won't talk to anyone about what they're working, what roles they might be playing, or even if they are or aren't in a feature. Wiig didn't get in any trouble, but she had to become wary.