DUBAI: Ahead of what is for many the most anticipated film of the year, Wonder Woman herself took over Dubai’s Burj Khalifa on Tuesday night, two days before the theatrical release of “Wonder Woman 1984” in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig all appeared on the world’s tallest building as part of a unique video experience created for a one-time-only event. Inspired by the film’s 1980s setting, the video made use of a static glitch effect that echoed the aesthetics of the time period, while also incorporating footage from the film’s trailer.
Gadot, ahead of her appearance on the Burj Khalifa, spoke to Arab News about the special occasion.
“I’m so excited! Please take a photo and send it. I saw the model of what it should be looking like and it’s insane. I’m so, so honored,’ Gadot told Arab News.
Gadot also expressed her thanks to the people of Dubai for giving her the chance to appear on the iconic structure, expressing her wishes to visit the UAE as soon as she’s able to.
“I would love to (visit Dubai) and I wish all of you guys happy holidays and I wish you all health and happiness,” said Gadot.
Gadot also stressed the cultural significance of the character, a female role model who projects both strength and moral courage for young girls across the world. Having hero like Wonder Woman projected onto the Burj Khalifa, for example, lets young girls looking up at the image know that there is no limit to what they can become themselves.
“I realized the power of these movies. I’m a big believer that when you see it, you think you can be it, and then you become it. I didn’t have the opportunity to see all of these strong female characters (growing up). Now I’m seeing the way that it affects my daughters, and also boys and men, and all different type of people. It’s so powerful, and it’s so strong, and I feel very grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of this,” says Gadot.
While Jo Blankernburg’s theme from the initial “Wonder Woman 1984” trailer, entitled “The Magellan Matrix” accompanied the Burj Khalifa display, the film itself is scored by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
Zimmer replaces the composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, who scored the first Wonder Woman film in 2017. Zimmer has a long history in the DC Comics world, scoring Christopher Nolan’s entire Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel (2013), and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), which itself marked the debut of Gadot as Wonder Woman.
“I loved working with Rupert Gregson-Williams. There was nothing wrong with [him], my first experience was incredible. But we’re working with Hans’s themes so much,” said Patty Jenkins, referring to the film’s use of the music Zimmer created for the character in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
“Hans really is, I think, the greatest composer of our times. Getting him to take on his own theme and this new shape of the world was just something I couldn’t pass up. We had a great time. He’s a genius. When he puts his spirit onto something, what comes out of him is pretty incredible. What a thrill! Watching him, he took the Wonder Woman theme that he had written, which is very ‘battle cry’, and he actually morphed it into this grand heroic superhero theme, which I didn’t think he could do, but he proved me wrong. So getting him to do that as well was pretty amazing,” Jenkins continued.
