“Wonder Woman 1984” Features ‘80s Shopping Mall with Fictional Lamps Plus Store
LOS ANGELES – Jan. 3, 2021 – Film viewers have been in for a surprise while watching Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Wonder Woman 1984.” Shown among the opening scenes is a fictional Virginia indoor shopping mall with retail stores from that period, including a Lamps Plus lighting store.
The scene is memorable, but in the real world, Lamps Plus has never had a store in an indoor mall or on the East Coast. But in the DC Universe, the retailer is shown having a successful storefront on the mall’s second level.
In reality, the sequence was shot in summer 2018 at the now shuttered Landmark Mall located in Alexandria, Va.
“In a year of unpredictability, we were excited to see a lighting store with our logo in ‘Wonder Woman 1984,’” Lamps Plus Founder and CEO Dennis Swanson said. “We weren’t aware of this prime placement in the mall scene, but it was a wonderful holiday season surprise.”
Lamps Plus was founded in North Hollywood, Calif., in 1976 with the opening of its first store. In 1984, the company had about a dozen stores in California only. Currently, the company has dozens of stores in seven western states and a thriving e-commerce business.
Lamps Plus is one of the most successful current retail brands in the scene. The company’s 2020 revenue is about $500 million.
“The scene perfectly captures the authenticity of a shopping mall from that era instead of using campy, retro clichés,” Swanson said. “For some, the scene provides nostalgia of a 1980s mall shopping experience, while for younger audiences, it offers a window into that time. Either way, it’s a fun scene and Lamps Plus is grateful to be included.”
The film set had 65 retail stores re-created from the era, according to USA Today. Several of the retailers, like Waldenbooks, Chess King and B. Dalton Bookseller, are no longer operating.
“The U.S. indoor shopping mall had greater importance in 1984 than it does today,” Swanson said. “The mall was where people went to buy most of their clothing, gifts, books and music; and was often visited for socializing and movie watching. While indoor malls are still important now, the Internet has replaced some needs. Lamps Plus has always wondered what it would be like to open an indoor mall store so now we have one, but only in the ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ story.”
See the Lamps Plus store in the background on the mall’s second level as Wonder Woman rescues a young girl in this film clip.
Media Contact: PR@LampsPlus.com