In 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, the proud and once secretive African nation of Wakanda formally opens its borders to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes when they need an assist. Turning to her king, leader of the Dora Milaje guard Okoye remarks, “When you said we’re going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world, this is not what I imagined.” What she did imagine was “the Olympics, maybe even a Starbucks.” Well, DC has formally beat Marvel to that particular finish line. The Olympics, not the Starbucks.

Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to 2017’s super-heroine blockbuster, may be set in the ‘80s but the opening sequence takes us back to the island of Themyscira with Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and young Diana (Lilly Aspell). The Amazons are competing in their own Amazon Games ceremony, testing their prowess through a series of challenges that begin with leaping from pole to pole, followed by running across a platform without being knocked off by a giant, swinging log, and then diving off the edge into the ocean. From there, it’s a lot of swimming and jumping onto running horses.

“It’s just this amazing sort of opening sequence of these Amazons performing these events that are like Cirque du Soleil meets American Ninja Warrior, meets extreme sports, but yet like none of that, like nothing you've ever seen before,” associate producer Anna Obropta says on the film’s Leavesden Studios set in the U.K. “They're graceful and they're fierce and it all culminates in this all-star competition.”

Young Diana is one of the competitors, despite her mother’s wishes. Though, her auntie doesn’t seem to have a problem with it; Diana is wearing the tiara of Robin Wright’s Antiope. “I’ve had five months of training, so it's been a lot,” Aspell, who does most of her own stunts says on set. Within reason of course. She was only 10 when she filmed this scene. “I feel like an Amazon!”

Much of the professional athletes who portrayed the Amazons of Themyscira in the first Wonder Woman — including American Ninja Warrior’s Jessie Graff — return to tackle this immense obstacle course. The log challenge proves to be a major hindrance, but not for lil’ Diana. This particular event is called the Kid Flipper. The Amazons are thrown off before landing “on this platform,” Obropta says. “And then you jump through these poles. But at the very end, in order to leap into the ocean in the swimming portion, you have to run up this ramp. It doesn't seem that hard except that there's a large log swinging right towards you.” This is where Diana, being the tiny Amazon she is, uses her size to her advantage.

The set, suspended high above the ground, sees these real-life warrior women supported by wires as they surf atop the barreling pillar, which features a woman’s helmed face carved at the tip. Most of the Amazons lose their balance, while Diana is small enough to slide underneath. They are all competing for the ultimate gold: a crown to adorn the winner’s brow.

It’s not a coincidence that the gold of the crown resembles the gold of star Gal Gadot’s new golden Wonder Woman armor. Her battle helmet is like an “upside down version” of the Amazon Games crown, says costume designer Lindy Hemming. “So, there's a link between the end of the film and the beginning of the film, in a way,” she says.

On a single day of filming, the production utilized 14 cranes and multiple IMAX cameras. “We have three of the Mark IVs, which are the high-speed cameras; we have a Mark III, which is an older version of that camera; and we have four MSMs, which are sort of a work horse IMAX camera,” explains Scott Smith, the film’s IMAX technician. “They're actually really difficult [to handle] because we liken these cameras to high-end sports cars. What they're doing here is a lot of 48 frames [per second], which is high speed for us. Normal speed is 24 frames per second. That's akin to driving your sports car at the red line all day long. So, we’ve been nervous, but it's been working well.”

For the Amazons themselves, Hemming crafted what she calls the 2,000-year-old version of Speedo wetsuit. Most of the athletes wear skin-tight brown gear for maneuverability, while other competitors are adorned with gold suits "in honor of the golden-ness of the games,” she says. Hemming approached the aesthetic like a true Amazon: If the warriors of Themyscira had to create their own athletic wear, what would that be? “They treat the panels of animal skin, which is like the finest wetsuit material that they can be,” she notes. “We've had it printed with different animal prints: there’s snake and there's crocodile and there's python and what have you. Then, some of the panels are gilded. So, it's a very complex process to make them. The idea, of course, is that they are strong and sleek, and that they are the peak of the peak of the Amazons.”

As Smith confirms, there are other scenes in Wonder Woman 1984 shot specifically for IMAX audiences. But what better way to kick off Diana’s return to the screen with some Amazon Games fanfare?

Look for a brand new trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 to debut during the virtual convention DC Fandome on Saturday, with the WW84 panel taking place at 1pm ET.

For more of our set visit coverage check out 20 things to know about the movie and a breakdown of Wonder Woman's new costume.

Wonder Woman 1984 is slated to open in theaters on October 2, 2020.