Wonder Woman – Preview

Without getting too socio-political on you all, it’s so good to finally see a badass female superhero get their own movie. It can be pretty hard to get behind portrayals of women in comics books and/or superhero movies because they’re either defined by their relationship to a heroic man and/or wearing a form-fitting, skimpy costume that would be totally impractical for combat (or any other physical heroics that might occur). I’m not convinced that Wonder Woman is going to be any different but based on this incarnation of the character’s introduction in Batman versus Superman, cautious optimism appears to be the order of the day.

Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny. In contrast with her appearance in Batman versus Superman, this will be a more naïve version of the most popular female superhero of all time, an idealist as opposed to the more hardcore version that audiences are used to.

Zach Snyder, director of Man of Steel, Batman versus Superman, and producer of myriad other DC Extended Universe films, wrote the story for Wonder Woman. His involvement with the project has become somewhat controversial as Batman versus Superman was disliked by fans and critics alike; although Ben Affleck as Batman turned out to be a felicitous choice, long-term fans found several plot holes in the story. Snyder has reportedly stepped down from directing the forthcoming Justice League movie after his daughter’s death in March. Joss Whedon will oversee the rest of the production and has been announced as joining the DC universe as director of an upcoming film focused on Batgirl.

Directed by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman will not have a post-credits scene in the way that movie goers have come to expect of superhero films. Batman versus Superman and Man of Steel didn’t have post-credit scenes either. Producer Charles Roven said that although he would not rule out post-credit scenes – Suicide Squad briefly saw Bruce Wayne talking to Amanda Waller –  he did not want to feel “forced to do something” because they hadn’t in the past.

Unlike Batman versus Superman and Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman appears to buck the trend of highly anticipated DC universe movies which fail to live up to the hype after their release. It is already being hailed as DC’s “best movie yet”. As the universe’s first movie to feature a female director, it puts the studio firmly ahead of Marvel, whose first female-helmed movie isn’t due until 2019. Jenkins was linked to Thor: the Dark World, however, she later left the project citing “creative differences”. Unknown sources suggested to Hollywood Reporter that she had in fact been “unceremoniously dropped” from the film following a similarly unknown dispute.

What are your thoughts on Wonder Woman? Let us know!