This past Wednesday and Thursday, 1984 returned to Wisconsin Avenue NW in the Georgetown section of Washington DC. The temporary time warp was due to shooting of scenes from the upcoming sequel to DC’s 2017 hit Wonder Woman. Director Patty Jenkins announced on Wednesday morning that the sequel will be entitled Wonder Woman 1984.

Actor Chris Pine as Steve Trevor near the Hirshorn Museum in Washington DC

It was earlier revealed that actor Chris Pine will reprise his role as Steve Trevor, despite his apparent death in a stolen WWI German bomber near the end of the original movie. And, he was seen walking around the area in black pants, black leather jacket and white sneakers that match the image released in official publicity photos. Fans of the Wonder Woman comic are well aware that Trevor has been killed off and resurrected by the writers numerous times beginning in 1969. His most recent revival was, coincidentally enough in issue 322, published in 1984. In that story, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was behind it. As the Greek gods are dead by Hades’ hand in the DCEU, that may not be the way the screenplay handles it.

Gal Gadot on set in Washington DC

Gal Gadot, who of course plays the Amazonian warrior, was also seen in the area, although it is unclear whether she was in costume at the time. Wonder Woman 1984 has the demigoddess confronting her traditional (as far as the comics are concerned) foe, Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig against the backdrop of the Cold War. This may or may not conflict with what she told Bruce Wayne in both Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League where she stated that she had walked away from man’s world for nearly 100 years after the end of the Great War.

Popular Georgetown punk rock store “Commander Salamander” returns from the 1980s to appear in the upcoming “Wonder Woman 1984”

Steve Trevor was not the only one brought back from the dead for the movie. Long-time Georgetown locals were thrilled by the reappearance of a local retail institution. “Commander Salamander” was a popular source for alternative fashion, specializing in the punk rock scene. Customers could get punk band tees, hair dye and the kind of jewelry and makeup unavailable at the local department store. The original store was located a few blocks away and closed down in 2010. Ironically, the fake storefront is located next door to the thrift shop owned by Commander Salamander’s former owner. Businesswoman Wendy Ezrailson even helped stocked the store with some personal belongings to give it the proper, as she said,  “sex, drugs and rock and roll” look. Based on the details of the set, it would appear that the store will appear as more than a backdrop within the movie.

The film crew took other steps to make the scenery look the part. In the days leading up to the filming, streets were blocked off, vintage cars were staged at a nearby abandoned shopping mall. On the days of the filming, taxis, police cars and several dozen civilian cars of the era drove up and down Wisconsin Ave, or were parked along the curbs to properly represent the era. In total, filming covered the area between M and P streets in the historic retail district, not far from 18th century homes and Georgetown University.

Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters on November 1, 2019.

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Wyatt D. Odd

Wyatt D. Odd