Moon Knight Director's WW1984 Criticism Proves Cleopatra's Biggest Challenge

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Mohamed Diab's scathing analysis of how Wonder Woman 1984 depicted Egypt shows the enormity of Cleopatra's challenge. Given the widespread acclaim reserved for Patty Jenkins' 2017 Wonder Woman solo movie, 2020's Wonder Woman 1984 proved surprisingly problematic. Alongside the controversy that arose from Steve Trevor's out-of-body sex scene, audiences singled out Wonder Woman 1984's Egypt-based sequences for portraying the country in a condescending light and perpetuating outdated Hollywood stereotypes. It's a conversation that has found renewed relevance after Moon Knight director, Mohamed Diab, labelled the DCEU's interpretation of 1980s Egypt "a disgrace."

Certainly, it's hard to argue with Diab's assessment. Rather than depicting Egypt in 1984 with authenticity, the characters and costumes were accused of peddling western caricatures (oil magnate Emir Said in particular), and «confused» was among the kinder terms used to describe Wonder Woman 1984's sociopolitical context. Like Diab, many viewers were also left disappointed by Egypt's portrayal as a more regressive civilization, which failed to reflect the reality of that era.

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Wonder Woman 1984's Egypt criticism provides a rocky foundation for Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot's upcoming big screen Cleopatra project. Initially slated to direct the film, Jenkins has since been replaced by Kari Skogland, but remains attached to Cleopatra as a producer, while Gadot still stars in the title role. With Wonder Woman 1984 and Cleopatra sharing key talent both behind and in front of camera, and Jenkins' DCEU sequel coming under intense fire for its inability to incorporate Egyptian settings without reverting to backwards