Kristen Wiig is in talks for the villain role in Wonder Woman 2. Patty Jenkins is returning to direct the sequel that will star Gal Gadot as the Amazonian princess. Very few plot details are known about the superhero film, but the follow-up will be set in the 1980s against the backdrop of the Cold War.
Wiig will play DC comics villain Cheetah, a moniker that has been adopted by multiple characters over the years and who generally are known for having superhuman strength and agility. Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston introduced the villain in 1943’s Wonder Woman No. 6, but perhaps the most famous version of the character, Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, didn’t make her way into the comics until 1987 under the work of writer Len Wein and artist George Perez. Minerva is a British anthropologist and heiress who gains the powers of the cheetah after an expedition to an African jungle.
Wiig has had an eclectic film career since leaving NBC’s Saturday Night Live in 2012. She first broke out as the star of Bridesmaids, and followed that up with indies like Her and The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Her credits also include studio comedies Ghostbusters and Zoolander 2, as well as a turn in the Ridley Scott-directed tentpole The Martian. Most recently, the actress starred opposite Matt Damon in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing. Wonder Woman 2, which is set to hit theaters Nov. 1, 2019, will be her first foray into the superhero genre.
