Wonder Woman’s Connie Nielsen Clarifies The Timeline For The Amazons Spinoff

As we look to the future, the world of Wonder Woman is set to have a growing influence in realm of DC Comics movies. Obviously the presence of Gal Gadot’s Princess Diana is already significant, as the star has played the role in four films over the last five years, but not only does she have Wonder Woman 3 in the works, but the franchise is also moving forward with a spinoff centered on the Amazons of Themyscira.

We’ve heard some interesting things about the latter project in recent months, as director Patty Jenkins (who is producing the film) said late last year that the story will chronicle events between Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984, but now Connie Nielsen has provided us with an update revealing that the scope is actually significantly broader than that.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the actor yesterday during the virtual press day for her upcoming film Nobody, and it was at the end of our conversation that I asked her thoughts on the recent developments with the Amazons film. My curiosity was particularly driven by the emotional circumstances that arise for Nielsen’s character, Queen Hippolyta, during the aforementioned time period (namely dealing with her daughter leaving Themyscira), but she surprised me by revealing that the movie won’t just take place in the aftermath of Wonder Woman. She said,

Well, I can tell you that it's not just after what happens in Wonder Woman. There's also some other stuff in there, which is related to a prior time as well. There is a lot of different sort of things that you can see where the story is a little bit origin minded, but there are also other times involved.

If that doesn’t provide an extra kick of excitement for the project, I’m not really sure what to tell you. While Patty Jenkins’ description of the timeline for the Amazons movie suggested that the project would on some level function to answer the question, “What’s been happening on Themyscira while Wonder Woman has been gone?” but Connie Nielsen’s tease hints that the film will also be doing a bit of digging into the history of the island and its residents.

What’s particularly thrilling about this update is that it means that we may wind up seeing the film having a deeper engagement with all of the mythology surrounding the magical island paradise that is Themyscira – including all of the various legends involving the Greek gods. Both Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 feature flashback sequences and have plot points that have given audiences a taste of the history, but because of their respective stories the focus has more been in “Man’s World.” Amazons will have the chance to do a much deeper dig, and Connie Nielsen makes it sound like the production isn’t missing the opportunity.

We’ve known about Patty Jenkins’ plans to produce a Wonder Woman spinoff about the Amazons since late 2019, and while the gears seem to be turning somewhat slowly, they definitely are turning. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t be too long before the project gets an official slot on the slate and a release date – but for now you can check out what’s in the immediate future for DC films by checking out our Upcoming DC Movies guide.

As for Connie Nielsen, you’ll next be able to see her in Nobody – also starring Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, and RZA – when it arrives in theaters on March 26.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.