She's a Wonder, that Woman

The Core RPGC Main Forum
#1

Yes, it’s official: The Wonder Woman movie is in the making! And guess who’s directing? Buffy’s Joss Whedon!
http://www.superherohype.com/news.php?id=2734

That’s a nice pair of- bracelets. XP

Of course, this depends on the new Batman and Superman movies being a hit, but hopefuly it’ll get done. Whedon has proven he CAN write strong yet sensitive female characters successfully.

But what should the story be? Wondy isn’t as well known as Supes or Bats. That means there’ll be a lot of room for making up stuff to attract the non-comics audience. And who should play the part? What do you people think?

#2

Yes, those are some very nice…bracelets. cough

I’m not very fammiliar with Wonder Woman, but I can see that this project seems quite likely to either totally rock or completely suck. One way or another, bet on a lot of pissed-off purists, as it to be expected with this kind of thing.

#3

I don’t know about this. I’ve never been a big fan of Wonder Woman (or DC, for that matter). Granted, I still want to see a good movie made from this, but I doubt I’ll see it unless it’s absolutely stunning.

And have they cancelled the new Superman movie yet? They’ve been working on that thing for what seems like an eternity, constantly changing actors, directors, foleys, cameras, anything that delays production. It’ll be several BILLION over budget by the time it comes out, and no movie can make that much up.

#4

Stop making bad puns in your thread titles, please. They’re not the right kind of bad.

#5

GG: I’ll explain Wonder Woman’s history (and which parts I think should and shouldn’t be used) later tonight.

d: I’m not that much of a WW fan either, but there HAVE been some great stories featuring her. Like any movie, its quality will depend on a lot of things. She IS DC Comic’s third most famous character (after Supes and Bats) so I think WB (which owns DC) will give her their best shot. Having Whedon on it is a very good first step!

And the Superman movie seems to be chugging along fine. They’ve already casted all the major characters (Kevin Spacey will be Luthor) they have a script (basic plot: Superman returns to Earth after a 6-year space trip and has to deal with the changes in his abscence) and they’ve started building sets, so I guess shooting has either started or is about to start. I have heard rumors that the budget is over 200 Millions, but that may change (and hopefully the movie will be worth it.) The best part is that they claim to be trying REALLY hard to recapture the magic of the first two movies, and if they succeed it’ll all be worth it. Let’s hope so.

#6

I think it should be good, I don’t really know much about wonder woman only read a few comics on her and I didn’t like them that much. <<

#7

I just thought I’d add that Kate Bosworth has been cast as Lois Lane, and some guy named Brandon Routh as Supey (who actually quite looks the part, IMO). Bryan Singer (the X-Men movies) is directing.

No info on a Wonder Woman movie on IMDB yet, although there are a few threads suggesting actresses. I think the best one mentioned there is Catherine Zeta Jones.

#8

I’ve never known much about Wonder Woman. I just know they made a WW spoof character in the live action Tick that used to air.

#9

Lynda Carter shall always be the only true Wonder Woman.

#10

984: Well, in my heart she will. Goddarnit but is that woman STILL as beautiful as she was in the WW TV show! (70’s). Yeah, probably Hollywood Magic, but still. ^^

Ahem Where was I? Wonder Woman’s history, right:

Wondy’s story has been revised a few times, as you should expect from a character that was created in 1941. By the way, the character was created by the psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston, better known as the inventor of the Lie Detector (No, really!) as well as a noted feminist.

In the original version, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons of Paradise Island, who have been living there since they fled Ancient Greece (the magic of the Greek gods keeps them young.) Diana was “born” in the island (actually she was a statue of a little girl brought to life by the gods as a reward for the faithfulness of the Amazons’ Queen, Hyppolita (she wanted a daughter.) After American Air Force Major Steve Trevor crashes near the island, the Amazons find out from him what is going on in the rest of world- namely, World War II- which was caused at least in part by the interference of the god of war, Mars. The Amazons hold a contest to choose one of them to go help humanity and represent them; Diana wins. She goes to America where she joins the Air Force under the identity of “Diana Prince” (to be close to Trevor, whom she had the hots for) and fights crime as Wonder Woman, wearing a costume based on American symbols.

Originally her powers and weapons were attributed to Amazon training and technology (which was very advanced!) Later it was decided she had been granted boons by the gods at her creation: The Strength of Hercules, the Speed of Mercury, the Beauty of Aphrodite and the Wisdom of Athena. She was also given the Lasso of Truth and the Amazon Bracelets (for deflecting bullets.) In the current version, those powers were granted when she won the tournament. And her beauty and wisdom are her own.

In the TV version, no reference was made to her having been a statue, and all her powers came from her costume. She returned to the island after the war but became Wonder Woman (and Diana) again, during the 70s(not having aged a day) where she became a government agent and worked with Trevor’s lookalike son.

The current comic book version is like the original except that a) It’s set in the present, b) the Amazons have no technology, c) it is explained her costume honors an American woman who died heroically in the island years before (and who was Trevor’s mother!!) and d) she has no secret identity, but instead acts as an actual Ambassador to Themyscira (Paradise Island) complete with her own Embassy. Also, Trevor married someone else, and Mars is known as Ares (the correct Greek name- Mars is the Roman name.) Diana stops him from causing World War III.

So, which of these elements should be used in the movie? Well, I would use the current comic version, including the mission against Ares, but with a few changes: I wouldn’t show her to have been made out of a statue, that sort of dehumanizes her. She could be Hyppolita’s daughter with some guy (Hercules? They did sleep together in the myths) I would restore the original relationship with Trevor (to give the movie some romance) and I would explain her costume as having been made in America by a publicist who wants to exploit her (there was one such character in the comics.) The movie would exploit the fish-out-of-water fun that can be had with a having a beautiful (and POWERFUL!) woman suddenly coming to a modern world where women live with MEN. I would also throw in lots of mythological monsters for her to fight.

Who should play Wondy? Well, I love Linda Carter but I don’t think she fits the modern image of WW (we could sneak her in a cameo role- maybe as Hyppolita!) My personal favorite is Catherine Zeta Jones. Looks like her, fills a costume real well, can act AND do fight scenes (remember her in Mask of Zorro?) Lucy Lawless (Xena) would also be perfect. However, they might be too old for the part (Not in MY opinion, but this is Hollywood we’re talking about.) Of the younger candidates mentioned, Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia from Buffy and Angel) is probably the best.

Remember, in case any of my guesses are correct: You saw them here first! ^^

Opinions?

#11

Actually, looking at the IMDB, Charisma Carpenter is less than a year younger than Catherine Zeta Jones. ::dekar!:: So I wouldn’t call her a “younger” candidate in comparison. :stuck_out_tongue:

#12

This movie looks really cool. I want to see it. :cool:

#13

I say that Batman is my favorite superhero, but I clarify by saying that Wonder Woman is in her own super duper class in my book. Hell, I used to dress up as Wonder Woman when I was little.

I’m excited.

#14

And according to the fans of Smallville, this is NOT a good thing.

Oh well. Fuck 'em.

#15

Well, fans of Smallville can go uh, watch their teen soaps on the WB. The majority of that show’s fan base doesn’t watch for the “prequel to the comics” value, let’s just say.

I’m quite skeptical of the Kate Bosworth casting myself, mainly because of her age, but if Singer can make it work, then whatever.

#16

I just hope this is not another movie that ends up killing the comic.
Like:
The Hulk
DareDevil
X-men was good, but I was disappointed in it.