'Wonder Woman 1984': Patty Jenkins And Cast Surprised By Lynda Carter On Panel Of Mutual Admiration [DC FanDome]

Warner Bros.' much-hyped DC FanDome launched with a bang today as Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal appeared to tout their upcoming superhero blockbuster. Here are some of the best moments from their panel discussion.

"I really think the movie is so great on the big screen," Jenkins explained at the start of the panel, partially justifying why the movie hasn't been dropped on a streaming service yet. "We all worked so hard to bring something that would be a big, visual, spectacular great time. So we're going to stick it out. We believe in putting in the cinema."

Pedro Pascal, who plays the villainous Maxwell Lord, had special praise for the film's costume designer. "Lindy Hemming is kind of a genius, really. The way she started to show me, in my experience, these horrifying power suits from the 1980s...I was like, 'There's just no way. I'm going to look like a fool in this '80s stuff,' and she was able to make something that was so animated and specific and feel and be completely stylish and feel like a million dollars and serve the purpose of what it was. I was in awe of all of her image boards and how she collaborated. It was really incredible."

Amid reminiscing about their favorite moments on the set (Kristen Wiig fondly recalled when Gal accidentally ripped off Kristen's wig during a fight scene, while Chris Pine was in awe of how the production shut down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC for filming), the panel was joined by a pre-recorded question from a special guest: tennis superstar Venus Williams, who wanted to know who would win in a tennis match between Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig's Cheetah. (Wiig thought Cheetah would win, and Gal Gadot agreed to disagree.)

But there was an even more special guest that also dropped by to interact with the panelists: Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series. She put a huge smile on everyone's face – especially Kristen Wiig, who fangirled out because she'd never met Carter before. Wiig explained that she had Wonder Woman Underoos when she was growing up and was a huge fan of the series, and Carter said she was a fan of Wiig's work too, so there was a nice moment of mutual admiration on the panel.

But Carter also tugged at the heartstrings a little when she relayed a story about her daughter's reaction to seeing Gal Gadot in the costume her mother helped to make iconic. "When my daughter saw Gal as Wonder Woman, she said, 'Mom, I finally get it. I finally understand why everyone idolizes you. I finally get what Wonder Woman means to everyone.' That's my daughter! My flesh and blood. So thank you, Gal. Thank you Patty."

"You are a true life Wonder Woman," Gadot responded. "I can't be more grateful to have your guidance to be able to call you mama bear, and knowing your children now. Thank you for everything you've done personally for me, and I'm sure to the world. Now, this thing is whole because you're here."

There was also a stretch where the cast admired and analyzed fan art submissions from around the world, which was a nice touch. I'm sure those artists' days were made seeing this filmmaking team talk about their work. And finally, they wrapped the panel up with the debut of the movie's second full trailer, which you can watch here.

Perhaps my biggest personal takeaway after this panel is that FanDome is a massive improvement over Comic-Con at Home. Yes, the whole "this is happening in a virtual dome" thing is a little cheesy, but the layout of the panel – with the hosts standing off to the side looking up at huge screens featuring all of the panel members – made the entire thing feel slick and produced in a way that Comic-Con never did this year. Also adding to that feeling was how the editors would splice in behind the scenes footage as the panelists were talking, some of which we'd never seen before. None of it was particularly revealing since it was mostly just the actors hanging out and laughing between takes on set, but it went a long way toward making the event feel professional.

As cheesy as it could be at times, I'd take this over a standard Zoom call any day.

Wonder Woman 1984 is set to hit theaters on October 2, 2020.