Wonder Woman 1984 is the big, blockbuster Christmas movie this year, and aside from the drama and excitement of Diana Prince’s newest big screen adventure, the epic adventure has been filmed in some stunning locations in several countries.
The movie is set in the 1980s, where the fate of the world is once more on the line. Only Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, can save it with her superhero powers, leaping in action to foil the dastardly plans cooked up by failing businessman and TV personality Max Lord. Filming of the ensuing and highly enjoyable caper took place in locations around the US, England, Wales, Spain and the Canary Islands.
The storyline centers around Lord’s theft of an ancient artefact being examined at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, where Diana is working as a cultural anthropologist. He uses its magical powers to grant any wish he desires to further his own aim of becoming super-powerful and successful, and also grants dangerous wishes to people that are useful to him. When the movie opens, you’ll spot that Diana’s apartment looks out onto the famous Watergate Hotel.
Being based at the Smithsonian means that we are treated to shots of the city’s most recognisable landmarks, including the White House. Filming also took place at the National Air and Space Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - watch out for a glimpse of Roy Lichtenstein‘s Brushstroke sculpture there - and the National Mall. There are also chaotic scenes of anarchy on Pennsylvania Avenue later in the movie as the world spins towards disaster.
We are dazzled early on by gorgeous scenes from Wonder Woman’s birthplace, the fictional island of Themyscira, where we get to enjoy flashbacks to the Amazon Games that took place during Diana’s childhood. This is the most visually stunning part of the movie and the epic race scenes and sweeping Mediterranean landscapes were filmed in Fuerteventura and Tenerife.
Directed by Patty Jenkins, the Warner Bros. Pictures movie also stars Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Kristen Wiig as Barbara/Cheetah and Pedro Pascal as the villainous Max Lord. There’s a brilliant action scene in a mall, which was filmed at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria, Virginia, which has been closed for business for several years and was transformed to look like a mall from the 1980s.
Wonder Woman 1984 is partly set in Cairo, but the team actually filmed many of these scenes in southern Spain. The incredible Alcazaba fortified complex, one of the most powerful Moorish fortresses in Spain, and the Wall of Jayran in Almería play a big part. English locations used were the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Legal and General House in Surrey, Boston Manor Park in Brentford, and Bovington Airfield in Hertfordshire.
Wonder Woman 1984 will debut simultaneously in movie theaters in the US and on HBO Max on 25 December, and in Australia and New Zealand on 26 December. It has already landed in cinemas in the UK, Ireland and various other countries around the world.
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