Santa Claus isn’t the only anticipated arrival on December 25. After all, Christmas Day is also when Wonder Woman is set to arrive, streaming on HBO Max in the new movie Wonder Woman 1984. It’s the second installment in a series by director Patty Jenkins, and this time Gal Gadot’s title character (intriguingly loaded alias: Diana Prince) is battling the forces of evil in the 1980s. That’s not the only change audiences have to expect.
In a much-ballyhooed move, the film is streaming on its opening day—a workaround to today’s theatrical release troubles and fitting nod to Wonder Woman’s small-screen origins. While the character first appeared in the 1940s as a member of DC Comics’ Justice League, she reached a much broader audience beginning in 1975 when Lynda Carter portrayed the character in the Wonder Woman TV series, which ran for three influential seasons.
For plenty of people, Carter—who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and in the recording studio since Wonder Woman, and will be releasing a new song, “Human and Divine,” inspired by the character in early 2021—will always epitomize the superhero, but that doesn’t mean the legendary actress won’t embrace Jenkins’s blockbuster reboot. In fact, the two (who happen to share a birthday; they’re both Leos) have a warm, familiar friendship and share a deep understanding of the character and her impact on the performers who portray her and the fans alike.