Before there was Wonder Woman, there was Queen Hippolyta.
Hippolyta is the queen of Amazons and the mother of Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Connie Nielsen has been cast to portray the Amazonian queen in the upcoming “Wonder Woman” solo movie.
Nielsen made her first major role in an English language film through 1997’s “The Devil’s Advocate”. She then rose to prominence by playing a Roman queen named Lucilla in Ridley Scott‘s 2000 epic historical drama film, “Gladiator”.
The Danish actress’ film credits include 2000’s “Mission to Mars”, 2002’s “One Hour Photo”, 2003’s “Basic”, 2003’s “The Hunted”, 2005’s “The Ice Harvest”, and 2014’s “Nymphomaniac”. She also played a lead character in the 2nd second of “The Following” TV series.
Nielsen’s role in “Wonder Woman” will mark the 2nd time that she is playing a royal role since “Gladiator”.
Back in November 2015, Australian actress Nicole Kidman was reportedly in negotiations to play “a high-ranking Amazonian warrior”, with many assuming that she would play Queen Hippolyta.
However, the negotiations didn’t come to fruition because Kidman was not included in the cast. Robin Wright then joined the cast, but details regarding her role were not revealed, causing many to speculate that she landed the maternal role. However, with Nielsen now confirmed as the queen, Wright’s role remains under wraps.
Gal Gadot is starring in this upcoming DC Comics film as the title role, but she will first appear in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” as the Amazonian princess. The film also stars Chris Pine, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Elena Anaya, and Lucy Davis.
“Wonder Woman” is currently shooting in the UK and Italy.
Director Michelle MacLaren was originally set to direct the film, but she departed from the project due to creative differences. “Monster” director Patty Jenkins replaced MacLaren and will be directing based on a script written by Jason Fuchs.
Slated for release on 23rd June 2017, the solo film will be produced by Zack Snyder and executive produced by Charles Roven for Atlas Entertainment.
