A lot goes into making a movie. Filmmakers create worlds with their films, so it can be hard to get every last detail right, especially if the movie is set in the past and you have to keep track of what things did and did not exist in that time period. Well, Wonder Woman 1984 hit HBO Max over the long holiday weekend, and sure enough, a reference to a punk album that wasn’t out in 1984 makes an appearance.
Without getting spoilery, there’s a moment in the film where some background characters make a brief on-screen appearance. The group of punk enthusiasts are wearing clothes appropriate of their interests, and one of the people is wearing a t-shirt that has the album art of the Cro-Mags album The Age Of Quarrel. That album was originally released in 1986, two years after Wonder Woman 1984 is set, so it shouldn’t appear in a movie set in 1984.
Cro-Mags singer John Joseph doesn’t have a problem with the inclusion, though, as he insists a version of the album was around in ’84. He posted a screenshot of the moment on Instagram and wrote, “Had about twenty people tell me about this. Patty Jenkins Director/Writer (Monster – Wonder Woman etc.) is a good friend since the 80’s – she asked me to send her a Cro-Mag shirt for the new ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ released today. I sent her this ‘Age of Quarrel’ tee-shirt. The original album (black cassette) was recorded in 1984. Me and Parris (guitarist) paid for the recording. His father owned a pressing plant in Nashville and pressed up the tapes.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJP5GJIhNX0/
Superchunk/Mountain Goats drummer Jon Wurster shared a picture of the moment as well and Joseph wrote in the comments (as Stereogum notes), “The artwork may be different but the songs are the same I suggest people talk about things they know as opposed to what they think they know.”
It’s not surprising that at least one person noticed the error, as about half of HBO Max subscribers watched Wonder Woman 1984 on its Christmas release.
