Wonder Woman goes to Hollywood

With the release of an image of Gal Gadot in the Wonder Woman costume what does the future hold for DC Comics Amazonian princess?

By Bernard O’Shea

09/08/14



Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last two weeks you will be aware that Henry Cavill (Superman) Ben Affleck (Batman) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) appeared with Zack Synder director of the upcoming Batman V Superman movie at the 2014 San Diego Comic Con. The event provided fans with two things; a tasty teaser trailer of the movie that would suggest strong ‘The Dark Knight Returns,’ influences and a picture of Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman Costume.

It’s all very exciting for comic book fans but although there is much to excite fans, there were no specific details about the movie itself. Every week there seems to be additional characters been added to the mix and this week the movie’s release date has been moved forward, it is assumed, to prevent a release date clash with Captain America 3. It seems DC Comics is making every effort to catch up with Marvel Entertainment’s conveyor belt of superhero franchises.

However, in the midst of all the PR and hyperbole that surrounds movies the concern for fans will be that in an effort to squeeze so much in what will get pushed out? It remains to be seen what Wonder Woman’s role will be in the movie. If ‘The Dark Knight Returns,’ is being touted as an influence then the likelihood is her role may be reduced to a cameo.

It seems unlikely. However, her inclusion does seem to rule out the possibility for a stand alone Wonder Woman movie for the moment. If DC can learn one lesson from Marvel it’s that using individual superhero movies helped build anticipation and box office success for the Avengers. Wonder Woman is more than deserving of her own movie. The argument that people will not go to see a female driven action movie no longer stands to reason. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire starring Jennifer Lawrence was the highest grossing film of 2013 and ‘Lucy,’ the 2014 Scarlett Johansson action flick made $44 million in its first weekend. This proves there is most certainly an audience for a Wonder Woman Movie.

The picture unveiled at the Comic Con shows that Wonder Woman will be remaining true to her Amazonian roots rather than hitting screens in her star spangled outfit. It is refreshing to see and if we compare the character to another star spangled hero, who has made the leap to the silver screen in recent years, then we can see a possible direction for a Wonder Woman movie.

Both Captain America and Wonder Woman share more than a similar taste in clothing. Both characters were created in the 1940s and are very much products of their era. To contemporary audiences it is difficult to portray these characters realistically because regular audiences do not have the benefit of the nostalgic appreciation for the characters long history in the same way comic book fans do. The writers at Marvel Entertainment were clever in their approach to Captain America, in portraying him as a man out of time, an man who has to wrestle his own values in a modern world.

I’m not suggested that any potential Wonder Woman movie should be a rehash of the first Captain America film, but it does provide a blueprint for how to approach characters from the Golden Age of comic books. Fans should not look past Wonder Woman’s origin story for the basis of a potential movie; Army pilot Steve Trevor’s plane crashes on Paradise Island, he is nursed back to health by the Amazonians and Wonder Woman returns with Steve to fight the Nazi’s in World War II. There are all sorts of possibilities with an origin like that. The correct writer and director team could deliver a rousing movie that could explores values, a sense of belonging and an understanding of what an individuals purpose in the world is.

It is an exciting time for Wonder Woman fans, but one thing for sure is that the fate of Wonder Woman will be revealed on 28^th April 2016 when the Batman V Superman movie is released. I really hope the character isn't reduced to refereeing a punch out between Batman and Superman. If DC Comics are intent on keeping pace with the Marvel movie output then I hope they have a plan in place with a Wonder Woman solo movie being very much part of it.