While only a rumor, the following story could contain major spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984.
While pretty much everybody is excited for the forthcoming Wonder Woman sequel, the movie already has people talking because one of the few things we know about it is that Chris Pine will be making his return as Steve Trevor. Since the original film, and the entire timeline for the sequel, would seem to make such a thing impossible, fans are very curious how such a thing would happen. Now, one report claims to know how Steve Trevor returns. As one might suspect, there are supernatural powers at work.
Now to start things off, it needs to be made clear that this information should be viewed only as a rumor for the moment. The sources are unnamed and thus can't be verified. However, the report does fall in line with other, unconfirmed, details that we have. If this report is true, then it makes for a massive spoiler as it also lays out the plot of Wonder Woman 1984 pretty much entirely. This is your last warning. Here we go.
The unnamed sources spoke with We Got This Covered, and according to them, Steve Trevor's return is a magical resurrection brought about by Pablo Pascal's character. Pascal had previously been rumored to be playing DC villain Maxwell Lord in the new movie and according to the rumor, Lord is on the hunt for numerous magical artifacts in order to become all-powerful. He enlists archeologist Barbara Ann Minerva (Kristin Wiig) to help him locate these artifacts, but when one curses her to become Cheetah, she goes after him in revenge. Lord goes to Wonder Woman for protection, and as an inducement to help him, he uses one of his magical items to bring Steve Trevor back to life.
The issue with bringing Steve Trevor back for Wonder Woman 1984 is two-fold. First, there's the little fact that Steve Trevor was in an airplane that exploded in the original Wonder Woman. Second, said airplane exploded in 1918, meaning that even if Steve Trevor were to have miraculously survived, he'd be something like 100-years-old during the events that take place in the sequel.
To that end, something fantastical will almost have to be at play here, and this idea makes as much sense as anything.
I was working on the theory that the film was going to make reference to the 1970's TV series by having Chris Pine return playing the grandson of his original character. I would have found something like that utterly hilarious. I probably would have been the only one.
This theory certainly doesn't conflict with anything that we know, and it works as far as it goes. It would explain why Steve Trevor is a "deer in the headlights" in the sequel. If he's magically resurrected, then he'll make a mental jump from 1918 to 1984, and Diana will be the one that will need to explain to him how the world works this time around.
Unless a trailer gives us the answers first, we'll find out how Steve Trevor returns when Wonder Woman 1984 debuts in June 2020.