When Lynda Carter made her memorable cameo in Wonder Woman 1984 as Asteria — a legendary Amazonian warrior with golden armor — the actress and singer was in the midst of working on a song inspired by her late husband, Robert A. Altman. Further influenced by Steve (Chris Pine) and Diana’s (Gal Gadlot) bittersweet love story in the film, Carter soon created a new single, “Human and Divine.”
“Music is in our souls. It’s in our hearts, our minds and in our bodies. We mark events with certain kinds of music and we attribute love to certain kinds of music,” Carter shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “Love is where the human and divine come together. I was vulnerable and inspired while I was writing this song. That creative seed began with my own great love and that is where it still lives, in my heart and the love for my husband.”
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That song evolved after she took her 1984 role.
“When Patty Jenkins cast me as Asteria in the Wonder Woman 1984 movie, the song and lyric then became about the love between Steve and Diana,” said Carter. “However, I quickly realized this is the love we all yearn for. It is an anthem to the great love stories of the ages. My hope is that this song will inspire the connection to the love in your own life.”
Carter admits that she hasn’t spoken much about the passing of her husband, who died in February, but feels now is the right time to do so in discussing “Human and Divine” because of its ability to capture themes of love, strength and inspiration in her life. She also hopes the song can offer a source of healing during a time of great “pain and loss” throughout the world amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“What still exists is human … and that is love. There is a divine quality that we have … it’s within our power to choose to react in a loving and thoughtful way or not to. And that is where I would like the song to live,” Carter says.
Carter will be releasing the new tune digitally Oct. 29, just in time for the 80th anniversary of Wonder Woman. Speaking with THR ahead of its release, the actress reflected on the legacy of the hero and how she believes there are both empowering and informative messages we can learn from the brave journey of the Amazonian princess.
Having embodied Wonder Woman on television in the ’70s and been inspired by her personally, Carter explains all fans of Wonder Woman today should “grow as much as you can” each day and “be curious.”
“She took a chance,” Carter says of Wonder Woman’s decision to leave her home of Themyscira to help humanity. “She went into an unknown world and she went out for the right reasons. She explored and she learned.”
For Carter, the role of Wonder Woman, as well as her civilian personality Diana Prince, is described by the actress and singer as her “lifetime’s work.” Getting to connect with the hero again on the set of Wonder Woman 1984 while taking on a new role as Asteria was “wonderful,” Carter shares.
“This time I was able to share it with my family and that brought a lot of joy,” Carter says of her 1984 role. “I was there on the set with Gal and her family, and me and my family, and Patty and her family … It was just this intimate time with an epic film and an epic journey.”
A question on many fan’s minds is, was the cameo just a scene and a tribute to Carter’s legacy as Wonder Woman? Or perhaps is there more of Asteria to be seen in upcoming films?
Carter notes nothing is for certain, but if there were a continuation of Asteria’s story in future films, she’d be more than willing to take the opportunity.
“With Patty, I’d do anything,” Carter says with a grin.
