When we first saw Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” last year, we were awed by her confidence, charisma, and badass combat skills. Plus, Hans Zimmer and XL Junkie did a really good job creating her theme song.
So you could say that we are beyond excited that the Amazonian princess is getting her own feature film 😉
Helmed by “Monster” director Patty Jenkins, Warner Bros.’s highly-anticipated “Wonder Woman” is written by Allan Heinberg and Geoff Johns from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, and Jason Fuchs.
The official synopsis is as follows:
“Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot (played by Chris Pine) crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.”
To best prepare you for the upcoming DC film, here are some interesting facts about “Wonder Woman”:
1. It’s a big step for female directors
Believe it or not, Patty Jenkins’ upcoming film is making Hollywood history. Not only is “Wonder Woman” the first female-directed summer tent pole superhero film, it is also the first female-directed superhero film with a female protagonist. And that’s not all, the movie is one of the few films directed by a woman with a USD100 million budget.
Although Jenkins has not directed a movie since “Monster” in 2003, she has been working on critically-acclaimed television shows such as “Arrested Development” and “The Killing”. If “Wonder Woman” does well, it’s definitely a big step not only for Jenkins, but for all female directors.
2. The storyline is based on both the traditional comics and the New 52 reboot
According to “Wonder Woman” producer Charles Roven, the film won’t be a “formulaic origin” like other superhero movies. He also added that the story is based on both the traditional comics and DC’s New 52 reboot, where Diana is the daughter of Zeus instead of being forged from clay.
“For ‘Wonder Woman’, what was really intriguing to us was the mythology of her past and attempting to blend both the canon from the past with the New 52 and really come up with a compelling story for Diana and her hero’s journey. That’s unique to her, and each character in the DCEU has an equally journey to take. Each one of them, that’s the point. They’re all really different,” he explained.
3. Filming began in November 2015 under the working title “Nightingale”
Most blockbuster movies use alternate titles during filming – sometimes they’re relevant; sometimes they have no meaning at all. While “Wonder Woman”‘s working title “Nightingale” might seem like an unusual choice, it could be referring to Florence Nightingale, an English social reformer and the founder of modern nursing.
Comic Book pointed out that in the heroine’s early Golden Age appearances, she first met her love interest Steve Trevor when he crash landed in his jet. While nursing him back to health, the pair fell in love and she followed him back to the “Man’s World” to fight crime and the Nazis. Besides that, the film sets include Italy – the country Florence Nightingale was born in.
4. Marketing for “Wonder Woman” costs more than “Suicide Squad”
“Wonder Woman” is coming out in a few weeks and many fans are worried that Warner Bros. isn’t giving it enough marketing and promotion. However, it turns out that Warner Bros. has reportedly spent over USD3 million on ads for the female-led DC film, which is actually more than than the USD2.6 million the studio spent on ads for “Suicide Squad” a couple of weeks before its release.
It’s also worth mentioning that much of the movie’s ads have been aired at special events including the Kids Choice Awards, NCCA Finals (which apparently, charges a lot for ad time), South by Southwest, and WonderCon.
5. Meet Wonder Woman’s best friend, Etta Candy
Besides the fact that Etta Candy is Diana’s best friend, she is a relatively unknown character to many. In the Golden Age comics, Candy, who was a malnourished girl Diana met in a hospital, rejuvenated herself back to health by eating candy and often impressed the Amazonian princess with her strength. She was even deemed worthy enough by the Amazons to be invited to Themyscira for festivals and celebrations.
During an interview on set, producer Charles Roven mentioned that Candy (played by British actress Lucy Davis) is very important to Wonder Woman’s story. He explained, “Definitely. I think Etta Candy, too, great character from the Lor, there’s been lots of different incarnations of her as well. But she does serve a really important role in this movie, being the woman in man’s world, who Diana meets and interacts with, and is also a very strong capable woman in a different way than Diana is.”
6. Gal Gadot filmed reshoots while pregnant
Want proof that Gal Gadot is a real-life Wonder Woman? The Israeli actress revealed that she was 5 months pregnant when she did her reshoots for the DC Film in November. So when you see her fighting the bad guys on the big screen, chances are you’re seeing her doing all those stunts with a bun in the oven.
To cover up her baby bump, costumers had to cut out parts of her armour and replace it with a green cloth so that the special effects department could alter her figure in post production. “On close-up I looked very much like Wonder Woman. On wide shots I looked very funny, like Wonder Woman pregnant with Kermit the Frog,” shared Gadot, who welcomed her 2nd daughter Maya with her husband Yaron Versano in March.
7. Patty Jenkins already has plans for a sequel!
Although Warner Bros. has yet to confirm a sequel for “Wonder Woman”, director Patty Jenkins already has an idea in mind for a sequel – she wants to bring the heroine to America!
In speaking with Toronto Sun, she said, “I’m excited for her to come to America and become the Wonder Woman we are all familiar with from having grown up around her as an American superhero. I’d like to bring her a little farther along into the future and have a fun, exciting storyline that is its own thing. Wonder Woman 1 is so much about her becoming the person she is. I can’t wait to spring forward with who she is and have another great standalone superhero film.”
Slated for release on 2nd June 2017, “Wonder Woman” also stars Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Ewen Bremner, and Saïd Taghmaoui.
Wanna know more about Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman? Check out our previous post here.
Sources: Batman-news, Entertainment Weekly, Movie Web, Comic Book (1) (2), Vanity Fair, Indie Wire, Gizmodo.
