Chris Pine teases his 'wide-eyed' return as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman 1984

Wonder Woman 1984 will bring a lot of new elements to the DC Extended Universe. The setting itself, America in 1984, provides director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot with an exciting new canvas to paint on, which means lots of new sets, new costumes, and new needle drops for the soundtrack. It also means new villains in Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) and new armor for Diana herself. 

Not everything about the film is new, of course, and WW84 will also provide plenty of opportunities to check in on some old friends, including a new look at Themyscira and, of course, the much-anticipated return of Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, the first man Diana ever knew, who seemed to perish at the end of Wonder Woman while saving countless lives during World War I. Somehow, Steve is back in 1984, fanny pack and all, and the circumstances surrounding his return remain one of the production's most closely guarded secrets. Longtime comic book fans are no strangers to dead characters returning from the grave, but even with that in mind we still don't know how Steve managed to do it, and we definitely don't know how he managed to keep from aging. 

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his return to the franchise, Pine himself wouldn't divulge any details of the how of Steve Trevor's appearance in the 1980s, but he did shed some light on his character's state of mind. It's still Steve Trevor, but we can expect a different outlook this time around, as well as a new dynamic between Steve and Diana. 

 “In the first movie, I played the world-weary soldier who has seen all the depravity that humankind is capable of displaying,” Pine said. “And in this one I get to be much more wide-eyed and joyful. My role is really just as a friend, lover, boyfriend-cum-bodyguard who’s trying his best to help Diana on her mission. I’m like the Watson to her Holmes.”

Steve's role in Wonder Woman was, at least in part, to guide Diana through her fish-out-of-water experience in the world of men. In WW84, that dynamic looks to be reversed somewhat, as the trailers have teased Diana trying to explain the idea of art installations and other 1980s mainstays to Steve. The film will also, as we've already seen in teasers, reignite the love story between the two characters, but don't expect a typical superhero romance. For Pine, Steve and Diana's relationship retains more thematic weight. 

“I think sometimes superhero films may feel they have to fit in a love story just to tick that box,” he said. “Whereas in this, it’s part and parcel of the spine of the lead character. And that is Wonder Woman — she leads with love and compassion and protectiveness, and these qualities that I think are nurtured by a good strong relationship.”

We'll find out exactly how that relationship is reignited when Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters June 4.