Feminist icon, natural born leader, Amazon princess – call her what you will Wonder Woman has entered the world’s consciousness through every medium except in a major motion picture. After all with successful Superman (the Christopher Reeves’ ones) and Batman films why can’t a Wonder Woman film get off the ground?
For one thing Wonder Woman works best with others. Her world is fraught with monsters straight out of Greek mythology including the gods or stereotypical villains from WWII. Still on their own they aren’t powerful enough to be a true villain. In the comics sent as an ambassador from Themyscira to deal with man’s world made for a classic fish out of water story with mixed results. Several times in Wonder Woman’s decades’ long comic history it has been preempted due to lagging sales.
As for a weekly serial or television movie it worked. Lynda Carter was the perfect Wonder Woman. As Diana Prince she portrayed a naiveté with a wink to the audience. We were all in on the secret, but the other characters were not. Even the Cathy Lee Crosby television movie of the week in the early ‘70s that sparked interest in Wonder Woman again was entertaining. With this track record a movie on the big screen would have to have an amazing story and on-point casting to succeed.
Let’s forget eye-candy for the moment. Bring back the days of actors who know how to act and don’t just look the part. And let’s not go young just to grab a certain demographic. If you have a well written screenplay alongside a solid cast then you have a potential hit.
For Wonder Woman why not Charlize Theron? Her role in Monster shows that she can be an acting chameleon and morph into the part she’s playing. She can also do action. Although Aeon Flux might not have been the best of films, Theron performed well. Then there’s Steve Trevor. Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) played him in the straight to DVD animated release why not have him play the live action version? There’s something in his face that can carry dimwittedness and high intelligence simultaneously. Let’s round off the cast with supporting players that bring several of the comic’s incarnations into play. The ones from Wonder Woman’s time as an ambassador during the modern era would be a good jumping off point. They’re generic enough to cast unknowns who can act and not just famous faces. If Hollywood insists on a name then why not Dakota Fanning or Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass) for the younger set?
As for a storyline why not when Hippolyta (played by Lynda Carter) has decided that Diana has failed in her mission and attempts to bring her back? The gods who have given her powers have abandoned her and now she has to survive on her wits and the friends she’s made along the way. It would make for gripping storytelling as Wonder Woman has always been an introspective character who would kill if necessary.
It could work if the-powers-that-be stopped catering to fickle audiences and allow a good story to be told.
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