Inspired by details included in
Original Script review by El Mayimbe of the Jennison/Strickland script:
The film opens with
QUEEN HIPPOLYTA and her
THREE THOUSAND AMAZON WARRIORS all clad in battle armor and bracelets.
The camera pulls back even further and
FIFTY THOUSAND MEN, all armed for war, advance on the Amazon.
IN VOICEOVER, Hippolyta tells the audience that the Amazons “were created to guard against the evils of the world. Strong, wise, and compassionate,
HERA gave breath to the
AMAZON.” In the ancient days, they lived among mankind,
but Man fears what it cannot control. Man ravaged the world & sought to take the power of the Amazon, but doing so would have destroyed Man’s world.
At the front lines, Hippolyta erupts in a battle-cry; and the Amazon charge forward, meeting the Army of Man head-on in battle. The action is EPIC in scale and scope (akin to the prologue battle sequence in
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
The Amazon are shown to be superior warriors, but the numbers of Man’s army are too great and the Amazon take HEAVY CASUALTIES .
Hippolyta further narrates: that “to protect the world from such devastation, [they] would do anything...
Even FLEE.”
Hippolyta leads twenty AMAZON SHIPS into the open ocean with an armada of Man’s army in hot pursuit, narrating that they “sailed forth without a destination, guided only by their faith.”
“Hera heard our prayers.”
Hippolyta steers her ships toward a heavenly star and the Amazon make it past a RAGING STORM, which engulfs Man’s ships, towards the paradise island of THEMYSCIRA.
Hippolyta finishes her voiceover by telling us that “Themyscira has been The Amazons’ home for three thousand years—a place where we could live in peace, protected from the ravages of time, and hidden from the world of man.”
One STORMY NIGHT on the beaches of Themiscrya, Hippolyta sculpts a CHILD out of CLAY and holds it up high. Hera breathes life into the clay, and we hear A NEWBORN’S CRIES...
(credits roll over a montage sequence of Hippolyta’s YOUNG DAUGHTER growing up on Themiscrya —INTERCUT with the stark contrast of MILITARY IMAGERY showing the HISTORY OF MANKIND’S WARFARE growing even DEADLIER, leading us directly into the film:
WONDER WOMAN
Germany, 1943:
STEVE TREVOR, a handsome “son-of-a-senator-but-made-it-on-his-own” AMERICAN in a NAZI SS DISGUISE, snaps photos of Nazi Jet BLUEPRINTS that look incredibly advanced for the 1940s.
The words AMERIKA BOMBER and FLEISCHER GESELLSCHAFT
appear on the bottom of each design. Steve discovers that the Nazis are going to bomb Washington D.C. and New York.
During his mission, Steve’s cover is blown and he gets chased by the Nazis, led by
MAIN NAZI VILLAIN. Steve makes it to the Nazi hangar and steals a Nazi jet, which looks more like a STEALTH-BOMBER than a WWII era plane— as it turns out, it’s the “Amerika Bomber“ from the aforementioned blueprints.
Steve navigates it out of there as the Nazis open fire on the jet. Steve makes it over the ocean and through the clouds, but the aircraft is leaking fuel. Luckily, he sees land ahead and flies towards a TROPICAL ISLAND...
Themiscrya:
A majestic city hugs the coastline and stretches up into the mountains. Its architecture is a mix of GREEK TEMPLES and ELABORATE TOWERS standing watch over the gleaming streets.
A huge COLISEUM stands in the center of the city, its rim decorated with STATUES of the GRECIAN GODS.
We descend into a long street-level tunnel that empties into the arena floor. At the end of the tunnel we see the SILHOUETTE of a young woman,
DIANA.
She takes a deep breath and places a HELMET on her head, OBSCURING HER FACE before we see it. She enters the coliseum and wears a maroon red skirt of leather strips and a GOLDEN BREASTPLATE with the form of an EAGLE, wings spread. Her bodice and leather boots are both dark red.
HUNDREDS OF AMAZONS in colorful robes fill the stands. A cheer rises as the red Amazon warrior (Diana) moves to the center of the ring, where another masked Amazon waits. This one wears dark green, and she is known as
PHILLIPUS.
We watch a series of Amazonian games to determine the strongest and best suited to find their lost sister,
GALINA. Hera’s choice will soon be revealed, and we arrive at the final four:
DIANA (RED) vs
PHILLIPUS (GREEN)
Diana, our hero, wins.
ARTEMIS (WHITE) vs
ODIA (BLUE)
Artemis wins.
Before the final match, both warriors are called to appear before the queen.
Diana, her face still covered, kneels before Hippolyta on the coliseum floor, beaming proud to have proven herself an Amazon warrior today. The winner will be tasked to return to Man’s world and find their Amazon sister, Galina.
Hippolyta asks the warriors to reveal themselves before their final match. Diana hesitates, but ultimately she removes her helmet and for the first time we see her. She’s BEAUTIFUL, with long black hair just like her mother Hippolyta.
Hippolyta has a fit—she has forbidden Diana from competing in the contest; Hippolyta orders her to go to the palace & ends the contest abruptly.
Steve, meanwhile, crashes the stolen-German aircraft near the shores of Themyscira. Diana, on her way to the palace, sees the plane go down & dives into the water to free Steve from the sinking wreckage and save his life.
As the two begin to introduce themselves, Steve is then arrested by the AMAZON GUARD headed by Queen Hippolyta, General Phillipus, and Artemis in HOVER CHARIOTS.
Hippolyta takes Diana on her hover chariot, and provides exposition to catch the audience up to speed:
WEEKS AGO, Galina was sent to Man’s world to ensure that PANDORA’S BOX is secure. However, she’s apparently gone missing (hence the contest for an Amazon warrior to go find Galina).
Hippolyta tells Diana that she has chosen Artemis to go to Man’s world to find Galina, much to Diana’s DISMAY. Mother & daughter get into an argument about Diana’s place on this island—and she begins to question her purpose in life. Her DESTINY.
Steve is taken straight to the SENATE HALL. Hippolyta puts the GOLDEN ROPE around Steve and he tells the truth—he was not aware of this island before crash-landing and wants to get home to end the war.
The Amazons don’t believe him—they think Man captured Galina and seek to steal the Amazon technology. After a quick trial, and despite Diana’s protests, Steve is sentenced by the senate to death.
We then find out that the Amazons protect the KEY to Pandora’s Box. The key itself is a CRYSTAL that hangs around Hippolyta’s neck like a medallion. If Man came into possession of Pandora’s box & its key, and unlocked its horrors—the results would be CATASTROPHIC.
In the dead of night, Diana offers to rescue Steve from his cell and take him back to Man’s world, unharmed, if he agrees to help her find Galina and secure Pandora’s Box.
She also steals a GOLDEN BELT (the belt of Aphrodite) which allows an Amazon to walk in disguise among men. Diana also steals a GOLDEN ROPE (Hestia’s Golden Lasso) which is unbreakable and any whom it binds, must speak the truth.
Diana and Steve make their getaway from Themyscira on, you guessed it, THE INVISIBLE JET. Diana controls the jet with her GOLDEN TIARA.
Act I ends with Diana and Steve racing out of Themyscira, heading back to WASHINGTON DC!
From there, the story follows similar story beats to the final 2017
Wonder Woman script with Diana exploring Man’s world with Steve:
- Instead of WWI London, the home setting is WWII Washington D.C.
- Wonder Woman learns of (and rebels against) the traditional roles for women in modern 1940s-society through her interactions with ETTA CANDY in DC.
- Diana & Steve join forces with THE LOSERS (led by CAPTAIN STORM) in place of the 2017 film’s supporting characters.
Galina’s character is similar to the 2009 animated
Wonder Woman’s tragic antagonist, Persephone (i.e. a renegade Amazon).
- Galina is seduced by ARES to betray her sisters & open Pandora’s Box—which will ignite WAR & DEATH across the globe granting Ares’ freedom and IMMENSE POWER.
The second part of Act II finds Diana, Steve, and The Losers traveling to BERLIN, GERMANY to track Galina down & stop the German forces from unleashing their FUTURISTIC WEAPONS (such as WAR WHEELS) on the Allies.
When Diana finally makes her debut as
WONDER WOMAN, her superhero outfit is a combination of her AMAZON BATTLE GEAR and the AMERICAN FLAG.
- In a sequence similar to 2017’s “No Man’s Land,” Diana advances into enemy territory with little more than her LASSO and SHIELD against NAZI SOLDIERS and WAR WHEELS. Steve and the Losers follow her lead, and the occupied-village is liberated. The day is saved at the end by ADDITIONAL AIR SUPPORT from the BLACKHAWKS (Steve, a pilot, will have already shared stories about the FABLED FIGHTER PILOT SQUADRON with Diana & the Losers prior to their arrival).
- It’s in these moments that Diana begins to see the potential for good in Man, and starts to develop feelings for Steve (who fell in love with her the moment he saw her on Themiscrya).
Act III features a BATTLE ROYALE FINALE that takes place back on Themyscira:
The Amazons (armed with HOVER CHARIOTS) defend their home against a FLEET of NAZI AMERIKA BOMBERS. The enemy forces are led by the Main Nazi Villain who is being fueled by Ares (revealed to be imprisoned within Pandora’s Box in Act II).
Ares has promised the Nazis enough power to not only win the war, but TAKE OVER THE WORLD.
- Ares’ influence is pushing the Main Nazi Villain further past the brink of INSANITY—it’s revealed that he’s placed ADOLF HITLER in SUSPENDED ANIMATION, believing that der Führer is not willing to go far enough—the Nazis will now follow his lead.
- The Nazi’s advanced weaponry is explained as a result of Ares PSYCHICALLY pushing forward the IDEAS OF WAR in Nazi scientists’ minds.
It’s ALL-OUT WAR for the KEY/CRYSTAL around Hippolyta’s neck.
Amidst the battle, Hippolyta finds Galina and their SWORDS CLASH. When the Queen Hippolyta delivers the KILLING BLOW, Galina speaks her truth—they are Amazons, yes, but they are
women too. As she dies, the Queen has a moment of clarity.
Steve Trevor later SACRIFICES HIS LIFE to save Diana and the Amazons by flying a HEAVILY-ARMED Nazi Amerika Bomber up away from Themiscrya and into the HEAVENS.
- Awe-inspired by his selfless actions, Queen Hippolyta later names him an HONORARY AMAZON.
Diana battles an UNLEASHED Ares and, in the end, is able to reseal him within Pandora’s Box (using a trick that Steve taught her) that stops the bloodshed—the Main Nazi Villain and his remaining forces SURRENDER as the Amazons CHEER their VICTORY.
As the film closes, Diana is set to remain in Themiscrya, having completed her mission. Instead, Queen Hippolyta names Diana as Themiscrya’s EMISSARY to Man’s world.
“Your destiny is not on this island. It never was.”
The two embrace & Diana says goodbye: “I will see you again, Mother.”
The film ends with WONDER WOMAN flying away from Themiscrya in the INVISIBLE JET back to Man’s world with a SMILE.
WONDER WOMAN WILL RETURN.
.
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