In Regards to that Wonder Woman Movie

*Originally published on 8/18/09


Comic book movies are all the rage right now. As a fan, it pleases me. While several heroes have gotten big screen translations, one of DC's greatest characters, and the greatest super heroine in all of comics, has yet to make it to feature film. It's been talked about on and off for well over a decade. In recent years, Marvel had been kicking DC's butt as far as film adaptations go, but with Jonah Hex and Green Lantern finally making headway, the score is starting to even up a bit. Even with this, Wonder Woman isn't really on the forefront of DC's movie properties.

Some people have stated that Wonder Woman just can't translate to the big screen. I don't know if I buy it. The animated Wonder Woman movie proved that she can hold her own movie. People say her costume is too ridiculous and that her lasso is lame. Really though, is her costume any more ridiculous than Batman's, Spider-Man's or Superman's? Yes, her lasso compels people to tell the truth, but she has Superman level strength and is a trained warrior. While she does use her tiara as a sort of boomerang, it's not a necessary thing. People joke about the invisible jet, but that's mostly because people have this notion that you can see her sitting in it. Think of the invisible jet like a cloaked Klingon bird of prey, everything's invisible, even her.

Yes, her origin requires a bit of suspension of disbelief, but moviegoers are becoming used to comic book tropes. If they're ready for the likes of Thor, Green Lantern, and Deadpool, than they can handle Wonder Woman just fine.

WB seems to be under the impression that female heroes can't hold their own movies. Looking at the trend, it would seem they have a point. Supergirl was pretty cheesy, I haven't seen Elektra but I've heard it's pretty bad, and Catwoman was atrocious. You have to remember though, that the fact that these female led movies bombed is incidental. They didn't do well because they were just bad movies. It's the same reason Batman and Robin and Steel bombed. If anything, those bad movies are even more reason to make the Wonder Woman movie. If anyone is going to save heroines' film reputations, it's Wonder Woman.

If you make a good Wonder Woman movie, you'll make a lot of money. She's one of DC's big three for crying out loud. The argument that people won't accept it because of the old TV show doesn't make much sense either. Adults may still remember it, but many younger movie goers won't be familiar with it, so they'd be going in with a blank slate. Even taking the old show into account, these characters need good adaptations to wipe out the campy images people have. Batman got it with Burton's films, Aquaman has gotten it to a lesser extent with the DCAU and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, I say Wonder Woman deserves a shot as well.

I'll admit that she'll be hard to cast, but I'm sure that there are tons of unknowns who could fill her shoes. I saw a picture of one actress named Kim Director who was the spitting image of Diana.

If you cast her properly and get Gail Simone to write the script, it will perform well. The movie should be made, she's a character who deserves it and it would prove Megan Fox wrong. I would not suggest casting Jennifer Love Hewitt though. I have nothing against her, but her reasons for wanting to play the part are all wrong.

So yeah, make a Wonder Woman movie. As long as it's good, people will go see it and you will make money.