Wonder Woman 1984: Steve Returning Could Explain DCEU Continuity Problems

Steve Trevor’s return in Wonder Woman 1984 could solve some of the DCEU’s continuity problems. Continuity is baked into the concept of a shared cinematic universe, in that everything relates – however loosely – to everything else. Both Marvel Studios and DC Films have had their own continuity problems, but the issues are undoubtedly much more prominent with the DCEU.

The core issue is that the first phase of the DCEU was marked by a stream of pivots and course-corrections, with long-term strategy shifting at every perceived crisis. At first glance, the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer suggests that the latest issue is taking shape. In Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Diana is supposed to have withdrawn from humanity for decades after the death of her beloved Steve Trevor. But Wonder Woman 1984 confirms that she’s remained active long after the First World War. How can these two different portrayals possibly be reconciled?

Surprisingly, there may actually be a pretty simple solution. The mysterious return of Steve Trevor – whether by mystical Chaos Shard or by any other MacGuffin – could help explain this apparent contradiction away. Because the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer makes it abundantly clear that Diana has never gotten over Steve Trevor’s death in the First World War, and that she accepts this mysteriously returned being as the man she loves. Time and again the trailer shows Diana and Steve operating side-by-side, to the extent that in one shot he has to encourage her to run ahead of him, presumably in order to save the day.

However Steve Trevor has returned, then, the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer makes it clear that Diana re-initiates their relationship. As far as she is concerned, this man is the genuine article. She may not be right, of course; this could all be some sort of sophisticated trap, a distraction to leave Wonder Woman off balance. But even if this is the real Steve Trevor, somehow brought back from the dead, viewers know that he won’t survive into the present-day DCEU. In Justice League, Batman taunted Diana by mentioning Steve, clearly goading her with the knowledge she’s never been able to move on from his death.

This, then, is Diana’s curse. It’s one thing to have loved and lost; but she has loved a man twice, and lost him both times. Presumably it is this second death, rather than the first one, which causes Diana to lose faith in humanity for decades and withdraw from the world. Of course, the interesting question is whether or not Steve Trevor will meet his fate in Wonder Woman 1984, or whether it will be later on, perhaps even if another film. Whatever course writer-director Patty Jenkins takes, the sad fact is that his days are numbered. And oddly enough, this twist may actually add another layer of depth to Justice League as well, in that Diana’s double-experience of grief would neatly explain why Wonder Woman was really so convinced Batman was wrong to try to resurrect Superman.