Summer 2017 cannot come fast enough!!!! ICYMI, Warner Brothers just released the forthcoming ‘Wonder Woman’ trailer at San Diego Comic Con and it is EVERYTHING! We apologize in advance for the possibly excessive use of all caps in this post, because we just can’t contain our excitement!
Ever since it was announced that Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, would be getting her own film back in 2014, many of us have eagerly been waiting for news and footage from the studio. It should also be noted that the comic book version of the Amazonian goddess has also kept fans excited as the movement for more solo female superhero titles grows every day.
There has been griping in the past about how ‘Elektra’ failed, so logically we can’t ever have nice things again or see another female superhero flick on the big screen, right? After all, every male-driven superhero film blows up the box office big screen *cough* ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ *cough*.
We have no doubt this is all going to change with the introduction of Wonder Woman to the big screen in 2017, and it is already getting plenty of buzz in the lead up. We shouldn’t be too hard on the aforementioned ‘Batman v Superman’ flick, because it WAS the film that introduced the Gal Gadot version of Wonder Woman to new audiences.
‘Wonder Woman’ is directed by Patty Jenkins, and our personal wish is that if this film epically blows up the box office next year, it will change the trajectory of the types of major blockbuster films given to female directors. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, take a look at the trailer shared by Warner Brothers, starring Gal Gadot, Connie Nielson (who plays her mother Queen Hippolyta) and Robin Wright (who plays General Antiope, one of two aunts who are her army generals).
There were two quotes in the trailer that we love the most: when Diana says “what I do is not up to you” to Steve Trevor, her war hero beau who tries to stop her from taking to the battle field at 1:55, and “where I come from that’s called slavery” at 2:34 when Diana is puzzled by the role of a secretary who does the bidding of her boss.
While Wonder Woman herself is the greatest female warrior the world has ever seen, in an interview with EW.com, star Gal Gadot says there is a lot humanity in her that will draw in fans, especially girls.
“Diana is really accessible. It’s very easy to relate to her. She has the heart of a human so she can be emotional, she’s curious, she’s compassionate, she loves people. And then she has the powers of a goddess. She’s all for good, she fights for good, she believes in great,” she explained to Nicole Sperling.
She also goes on to explain why it had to be a woman directing this film, as opposed to the familiar male directors like Bryan Singer, Zack Snyder or Jon Favreau who are known by fans for ‘X-MEN’, ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’, and ‘Iron Man’ respectively.
“I think it’s important. It’s a story about a girl becoming a woman. I think only a woman, who has been a girl, can be able to tell the story in the right way. All my life I’ve been working with male directors which I’ve really enjoyed. And I’m lucky in that I’ve worked with men who have a lot of respect for women. But working with a woman is a different experience. It feels like the communication is different,” she explains about working with Patty, the director chosen by Zack Snyder and his producer wife Deb to bring this film to life.
Gal also says that having a female director enabled the Wonder Woman/Diana Prince story to be presented in an authentic way that didn’t pander to female audiences.
“When Patty and I had our creative conversations about the character, we realized that Diana can still be a normal woman, one with very high values, but still a woman. She can be sensitive. She is smart and independent and emotional. She can be confused. She can lose her confidence. She can have confidence. She is everything. She has a human heart,’ said Gal.
The 31 year old actress and mother of a daughter is no stranger to being a badass, as she is a former combat trainer in the Israeli army. The fight sequences are definitely going to be epic! But what is going to be most impactful is what young girls watching this film will think. Gal says it was a big responsibility because they didn’t just want to show a generic coming-of-age superhero story.
“We knew we wanted to tell a story that would inspire people: women, men, boys, and girls…We wanted her to be full and whole. This is the first time we are telling this story and I feel like for so many boys, they have great role models to work with. They have Superman and Batman and Spiderman and the list goes on and on. And they are strong and almighty and they are positive and active and proactive,” she explained.
Now girls will have a chance to have at least one major motion picture superhero to look up to and grow up with as someone iconic in their imaginations. Talking about this with her 4 year-old daughter made her realize just how ingrained the gender bias is in what kids see on screen.
“I just had a conversation with my daughter, Alma, and she was saying something about the prince she saw in ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and she was saying he’s brave and he’s strong. And I said what about the princess and she said, she’s weak. And I said, what do you think of that. And she said, she shouldn’t be weak. And I said why do you think she’s weak, and she said, she’s sleeping the entire movie and the prince comes and kisses her and saves her. She didn’t do anything,” she recalled.
Wonder Woman may be a fictional character, but as has been proven over and over again, decade after decade, media and entertainment is an extremely powerful vehicle for communicating messages, and oh boy has it done a great job of communicating the limitations of gender for women in many films. Gal is excited to be part of something that could possibly be the turning point in the larger conversation about greater female and diverse representations on screen.
“I feel that I’ve got the opportunity to set a great role model for girls to look up to a strong, active, compassionate, loving, positive woman and I think it’s so important. It’s about time that somebody will do that and I’m very privileged and honored to be the one,” she said.
But it’s not just the new, younger fans, this film is hoping to draw. Wonder Wonder has been around for 75 years and this milestone was also celebrated at Comic Con in conjunction with the release of the new film trailer. In a press statement, Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment, President of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and President and Chief Content Officer of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment said it was important to show the evolution of this iconic character as we look to her future.
“Wonder Woman has long stood with Batman and Superman in the trinity of DC’s most iconic Super Heroes, but she also stands alone as a symbol of equality, justice and female empowerment and is more relevant today than ever. With her roots in Greek mythology and American feminism, Wonder Woman is one of the most unique and compelling characters in comic book history; her longevity is a testament to her global appeal and the special place she holds in the hearts of generations of girls who have imagined wielding their own lassos of truth,” she said.
Part of the anniversary celebration included displays of costumes from the original TV series starring Lynda Carter, memorabilia, comic books, posters, and of course artwork from the new movie. DC Entertainment released a cool video sharing comic book images from the past 75 years, showing how Wonder Woman has progressed over the years, which you can see below.
Fun Fact about WW: she is the creation of William Moulton Marston, a psychologist best known as the inventor of the lie detector who used the pen name Charles Moulton. His idea was to create a hero who counted more on wisdom and compassion than her fists, as pointed out by Rick Bentley at the Fresno Bee.
Also, as Diane Nelson touched on above, there is a distinctly feminist tilt to her origin story. Marston was inspired by the early suffragettes, including Margaret Sanger. As written by author Jill Lepore in her book ‘The Secret History of Wonder Woman’, the superhero became an important symbol the fight for reproductive rights in America during the rise of feminism.
If you are excited as we are for Summer 2017, we won’t judge you for continually playing the movie trailer above on a continuous loop. Wonder Woman may be 75 years old, but for many fans, including us, a new era of Diana Prince is just beginning.
Pretty sure that comment to Trevor was right before she squared off with mr bad guy at the dance (likely her uncle Ares, the god of war) as she had on the blue dress. I don’t think he had any issue with her going after run-of-the-mill German enemies. A lot of the segments in that trailer appear to be in non-sequential order: Trevor hijacking the plane was probably the event that led soon after to his crashing on the Amazons’ island. Diana tossing aside the blue dress was likely after the confrontation at the party (failed/aborted?)
Every action film heroine I’ve seen, apart from Ripley in Alien, has been very sexualised, I see the latest WW is, which indicates Hollywood’s urge to create a new role for women is a bit suspect! I also note that in the trailer all the people WW commits violence against are male, which is standard in film and tv. It’s an aspect of gender bias that’s never commented upon, that violence against women is portrayed much less often, and always as a bad thing, while violence against men, whether perpetrated by man or woman, is entertainment. Well I’m commenting on it. In fact I’ve written a story (I won’t give a link, as this isn’t the place to promote my product) where a gang of female crooks are violently taken down by a tough heroine. It will be interesting to see how many see it as entertainment. I’ve no problem with feminism, but if violence on men is entertainment, then isn’t violence against women also entertaining? Or to put it another way, should violence be seen as entertainment?