Chris Pine Confirms 'Wonder Woman' Is Set During World War I

As Wonder Woman worked its way through development, its setting seemed to shift with with the wind. Depending on who was attached to write or direct the movie at any given moment, it was rumored to be set in Ancient Greece. Or during the Roaring '20s. Or during World War II. Now that the film is actually in production, the "where and when" of the film has finally been settled by Chris Pine, who will be playing Wonder Woman's love interest, Steve Trevor, in the film.

It's official now: Wonder Woman will be set during World War I. So there you go.

Although he has The Finest Hours coming out in just two weeks, the bulk of Pine's conversation with The Toronto Sun focuses on Wonder Woman, which has been filming under a veil of secrecy since since November. However, Pine did give up the time period in which the film is set and he seems fairly pumped about getting to play around in this corner of world history:

It's a period we don't see often; it's usually World War II. Our costume design is incredible. We have scenes with, like, 500 extras all in period dress. I'd never been on a film with extras casting as beautifully done as it is here.

Pine is right – we don't get to see World War I on screen very often. Unlike World War II, which has a very clear "good versus evil" narrative, the "Great War" was a far murkier affair, the result of countless alliances coming undone and messy politics turning nation against nation. To read about World War I is to read about one of the most miserable events in all of human history – it's a period of total horror, where countless men marched to their deaths as part of a seemingly pointless conflict over nothing of great importance.

In other words, it's a fascinating setting for the debut solo adventure of an immortal Amazonian warrior who will surely look upon man's conflicts with disgust. Watching Gal Gadot's Diana Prince navigate one of the grayest wars of the 20th century could be challenging, fresh stuff. This is especially interesting since many of Wonder Woman's earliest comic book stories, which directly involve Steve Trevor, tie her directly to World War II. Moving the action up a few decades is deliberate choice and one that could prove to be very interesting.

Pine doesn't offer much in the way of plot details, but he does talk about Steve Trevor, who sounds like he could be a great foil for the traditionally optimistic Wonder Woman:

Steve Trevor is a rogue-ish, cynical realist who's seen the awful brutish nature of modern civilization. He's a worldly guy, a charming guy and it's going to be a great, fun film. There are some incredibly deep, interesting and morally relevant themes.

He also took time to praise director Patty Jenkins, using the phrase "pop sensibility," which is just a nice thing to say about anyone making a comic book movie:

Patty [Jenkins] is just directing the daylights out of it. It's shot beautifully, feels so wonderfully period, but also has this wonderful pop sensibility.

Wonder Woman also stars Robin Wright, Danny Huston, and David Thewlis and will open on June 23, 2017. The first sneak peek at the film is expected to arrive sometime this month.