Zack Snyder Reveals His Original Pre-BvS Backstory For DCEU’s Wonder Woman

Zack Snyder explains the intended backstory for Wonder Woman before Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. After the image of Diana Prince during the Crimean War made the rounds online, it has become a favorite topic of conversation online, with fans wanting to know the context behind the photo.

The said image was spotted hanging on Snyder’s office during a recent online interview sparking interest from the public. In it, the Themysciran Princess poses with a spear and holding several severed heads, as if proof of her fighting capabilities. This never made it into the DCEU canon, with Diana’s backstory changed to be set during World War I, as seen in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. The 2017 film also features a similar photo that was first revealed in Dawn of Justice and tipped off Bruce Wayne/Batman of the Amazonian Goddess’ real identity. But since the first and more brutal image is out, Snyder took it upon himself to share the context behind it.

Taking it to his official Twitter account, Snyder shared that this was supposedly taken in 1854, where Diana was on the hunt for Ares. To explain the barbaric act of carrying the heads of her killed adversaries, the filmmaker added that the idea was that Steve Trevor, whom she has yet to meet at this point, will help her “restore her faith in mankind and love itself.” Check out his full tweet below:

The image itself has been drawing interest as it contradicts everything that has been revealed on Wonder Woman thus far. For starters, it’s out of character for her to walk around dragging the heads of her opponents like that, especially since she’s clearly opposed to violence in Wonder Woman 1984. Diana even stresses that no one should be killed as she and Steve hunted Maxwell Lord in the film, arguing that everyone was under the influence of the Dreamstone. Additionally, this opposes the idea that Wonder Woman has never lost faith in humans; in fact, it’s her unwavering belief in the goodness of people that motivated her to leave Themyscira and save them during WWI in the first place. It helped her let go of Steve for the second time, realizing that the world needs her in Wonder Woman 1984, as well.

Considering how beloved the original Wonder Woman film is, it’s safe to say that scrapping this idea of Diana fighting in the Crimean War was for the best. Establishing that she’s inherently good and gracious, on top of strong and capable, made her a better role model. This was also why she’s the perfect optimistic hero for the franchise, which the DCEU sorely lacked during its early years. Crediting a man for helping her regain her humanity will surely be a divisive creative choice. It is interesting to learn more about how the rest of this more brutal Wonder Woman story leads to her introduction in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, opting against it turned out to be for the best.

Source: Zack Snyder

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