DC On Wonder Woman Movie: We're Working On It
Amid the explosion of news this week based around comics in other media, from James McAvoy in the new X-Men movie to Green Lantern's animated series, there was also the confirmation of a Wonder Woman film "in development." Frankly, this comes off as a little dismissive of the project, considering that the prospective movie has been "in development" for nearly ten years now. The concept of Princess Diana on the silver screen is infinitely more appealing to me than the chance to see Ryan Reynold's abs starring as Hal Jordan, so what's the hold up?
Joss Whedon, who worked on a potential script from 2005 to 2007, cited troubles with world-building for the character, who would obviously require a different tone and approach than, say, Nolan's Batman films. Others who stepped up to the task wanted to avoid placing her in a historical setting. But these complaints seem so trivial when just last year, DC released a successful animated movie that balanced the feminist values and action sequences that will naturally spring up in a Wonder Woman script. A live-action venture would obviously cater to a different market, but there's no reason that can defend how long it's taken just to lay some basic groundwork for the film. It's obvious that DC execs can go for months without even thinking about the project, when there are fans who clamor for it every time news of a MAD Magazine movie gets PR. In an industry where every "major" superhero gets a film, this kind of exposure is necessary for Wonder Woman to stay in mainstream consciousness. No more excuses, DC. I want that movie.
Rubber Justice
Posted to Movies on 28 May 2010
· Comments (4)
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Hear hear! I grew up on the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman series and have always loved the character. If Hollywood can't come up with a decent treatment of Wonder Woman, they're not trying hard enough.
But truthfully, Can we name the number of she-roes movies that have been successfully adapted from comics? Kill-Bill is the closest super-hero-ish chic movie I've seen do well and it wasn't a comic adaption. Super chicks seem to do a lot better on the small screen rather than big.(Buffy, Alias, DollHouse, etc.) But maybe I'm wrong and my mind just isn't thinking of successful comic movie heroines. If so fill me in.
Comic Movie females: Catwoman, Red Sonja, Barb Wire, SuperGirl, Elektra, Josie and the Pussycats, Sheena, Tank Girl, well you get the point!
You're right that most comic heroine movies have been bombs, but I'm thinking that Warners as a studio has historically been reluctant to have female leads. If you look at their list of titles, the female-prominent movies are few and far between, and rarely are critical successes: The Time-Traveller's Wife, Gothika, Nancy Drew, Sex and the City, etc. Million Dollar Baby is the only exception.
The Wonder Woman animated direct-to-video film was proof-positive that WW can be updated and current for today's more modern audience. I too grew up on the Lynda Carter TV series ABC/CBS. And I have to say that with the right writers and director, WW could have the same impact on audiences that the new Star Trek film had on it's nay-sayers. Things like having a relative unknown in the lead would help viewers to see the character first and the actress second. Another crucial component to the film is plot threads. What made Superman and Superman II so enjoyable was the fact that there were several plotlines all revolving around the featured character/superhero, Superman. A WW film needs to explore her relationship with her mother as both a daughter and princess, as well as her fish-out-of-water experience in Man's World, her having to juggle a secret identity, her romance with Steve Trevor or Thomas Tresser aka Nemesis and her inevitable conflict with the featured baddie. If Warners goes the route of the recent Batfilms, I fear she'll lose what makes her such a fun and magical character, things like the Gods, her "magic" lasso, invisible stealth jet, transformation twirl, etc.,. I remember what made the WW TV series so exciting was the whole transformation scene in each episode where she has to find a place to secretly change identities and flying around undetected in her glass plane. I'd hate to see them turn her into an updated Xena, who in my humble opinion was just a poor-man's Wonder Woman!