Wonder Woman: Everything we know about Monolith’s comic adaptation

DC fans are spoiled for choice lately. Batman’s great and all, but after more than a decade of Batman games, a little variety is welcome, and the next two years is looking varied indeed. After Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Wonder Woman is next in line. The Wonder Woman game was a surprise announcement during the 2021 Game Awards. Publisher Warner Bros. has enlisted Monolith Productions—best known for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War—to develop the game.

It’s honestly surprising Wonder Woman hasn’t received a solo game before now. Previously Diana of Themyscira has only appeared as a side character or as part of an ensemble cast, and that’s borderline criminal. Being one of the team in early Justice League games, defeating her evil counterpart in NetherRealm’s Injustice series, or making unlikely cameos in Scribblenauts and LittleBigPlanet just isn’t the same as getting the starring role.

But it’s a bit early to get excited—we haven’t seen much from the Wonder Woman game beyond that initial teaser trailer. Hell, we don’t even know what platforms it’ll release on, though considering Warner Bros. usually goes multiplatform, we can’t imagine they’d skip PC. That said, given Wonder Woman’s comic book history, we’ve got a few theories about where Monolith’s taking Diana’s latest adventure. For now, here’s everything we know.

What is Wonder Woman’s release date?

We don’t know. Warner Bros. hasn’t even given a broad Wonder Woman release window. One thing we can safely assume is it’s not launching this year. 

Speaking in a Twitter thread, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar outlined plans for 2022, saying they’d be delivering “a full slate of highly anticipated games.” However, only Hogwarts Legacy and Gotham Knights were named. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was meant to release in 2022, but has likely been delayed to 2023.

As a triple-A project in early development, we probably won’t see Wonder Woman until late 2023 at the very earliest, perhaps pushing into 2024.

The Wonder Woman trailer didn’t show much

We’ve not seen any gameplay from Wonder Woman yet. All we’ve had is this brief cinematic teaser trailer during The Game Awards, which is narrated by Diana’s mother, Hippolyta, and offers a good look at Diana’s armor. You can watch that above.

What story will the Wonder Woman game tell?

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Wonder Woman has an original story and Warner Bros. confirmed that it will “allow players to become Diana of Themyscira in the fight to unite her Amazon family and the humans from the modern world.” That’s a vague description, but our biggest story clue lies within the trailer. Hippolyta states “my daughter, a new threat comes to our shores, and I must call you home. Restore what has been broken, unite old enemies, forge new paths. You are a hero, but you can be more.”

So we know Diana’s already left home and established herself as Wonder Woman before heading back to Themyscira, meaning this won’t be an origin story. As for the threat, that’s tougher to predict, as Diana has accrued a substantial rogues gallery over the last 80 years.

If this villain directly threatens Themyscira, one potential candidate could be Barbara Ann Minerva, former archaeologist and treasure hunter known as The Cheetah, who recently appeared in Wonder Woman 1984. Another potential candidate is Ares, the Greek god of war (no, not that one) and prominent adversary of Diana. 

Who’s playing Wonder Woman?

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

No casting announcements have been made right now, though for Wonder Woman, I’d speculate Susan Eisenberg is a probable candidate. Eisenberg’s voiced Wonder Woman for over two decades across animated TV shows, films, and several video games, including Injustice, Lego DC Super-Villains, and DC Universe Online.

Sure, Gal Gadot portrays Diana in the live-action DC Extended Universe but given Eisenberg’s history—and the fact Gadot’s never worked as a voice actor—she seems unlikely. Elsewhere, the only other confirmed character is Hippolyta, and Warner Bros. hasn’t revealed who voiced her in the teaser. 

What should we expect from Wonder Woman’s combat?

Warner Bros. released several details in the trailer’s description, confirming this’ll be a “singleplayer open world action game.” Obviously we’re playing as Wonder Woman, and there’s no suggestion of other playable characters.

Going off the comics, Diana’s proficiency in both armed and unarmed combat means Monolith is likely focusing on melee combat augmented by various other weaponry. Her indestructible Bracelets of Submission could potentially parry attacks, and while the trailer showcased her iconic Lasso of Truth, what you’ll be able to do with it is currently unknown. We may have a showdown between Wonder Woman and Indiana Jones on the best whip physics if they arrive in the same year.

Beyond speculation, our only additional hint comes from that initial press release. Warner Bros. and Monolith confirmed that “gamers will forge deep connections with both enemies and allies as they progress from a heroic fighter into a proven leader” using the Nemesis System. 

What is the Nemesis System again?

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

The Nemesis System was famously used by Monolith in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, introducing a procedurally generated hierarchy between enemy orcs. Uniquely, that gave them individual strengths, weaknesses, and relationships with fellow NPCs. You could kill a captain, only for a grunt to take their place. Or, if a grunt killed you, they could be promoted to Captain, taunting you when they’ve come back stronger.

Elaborating in a press release, David Hewitt, Vice President and Studio Head at Monolith, confirmed:

“At Monolith Productions, we believe in the power of player-driven storytelling to unite people. The stories our players share inspire us every day, and we are honored to take players on a unique personal journey, driven by the values embodied in Wonder Woman. The Nemesis System raised the bar for player-driven storytelling and we’re excited to push the open-world genre forward, combining cutting-edge action with inventive narratives to create a Wonder Woman game everyone will want to play.”

Wait, so we’re gonna fight orcs?

No. Well, I mean, probably not?

I don’t recall seeing Diana ever fight orcs in the comics. Maybe some monsters that are vaguely tied to Greek mythology? Truthfully we just don’t know how Nemesis plays into Wonder Woman, so these wider details are currently a mystery.