Warner Bros.' firstWonder Womanmovie would have looked very different if any of the early attempts at translatingDC’s Diana Prince to the big screen had succeeded. Despite the character’s monumental impact on pop culture since her comic book debut in 1941 and her popular TV 1970s series starring Lynda Carter, it took Wonder Woman seventy-six years to star in her first live-action big-screen movie. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman made her on-screen debut in Zack Snyder’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicebefore receiving her first starring role in Patty Jenkins’Wonder Woman.
Gadot’s Wonder Woman was one of the most consistent characters in the DCEU, thoughWonder Woman 1984failed to capture audiences, and Diana Prince’s cameos inShazam: Fury of the GodsandThe Flashsuggested the franchise was struggling to give her something important to do. The DCEU was rebooted,Wonder Woman3was canceled, and the search for a new Wonder Woman actor began. More than twenty years before, a similar search was underway at Warner Bros.
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Interest in aWonder Womanmovie began in the late 1990s, with filmmakers such asGhostbusterswriter Ivan Reitman andPredatorproducer Joel Silver circling the project.In 1999, Silver andMinority Reportco-writer Jon Cohen signed on to developWonder Womanand reportedly set their sights on Sandra Bullock for the lead role, as reported byVariety.Rumors and fan-castings increased as the project changed hands, and evenXena: Warrior Princessstar Lucy Lawless addressed her chances in an interview withEW, saying that she’d like to play a"flawed"version of Wonder Woman.
Warner Bros.‘Wonder Womanmovie was one of the many projects that were written and rewritten in the early aughts, as the success of movies like Sam Raimi’sSpider-Man, Bryan Singer’sX-Men, and Christopher Nolan’sBatman Beginsdemonstrated the potential of superheroes on the big screen.The Avengersdirector Joss Whedon famously took on the project in 2005, and he later toldEWthat while he never started casting before the film was scrapped, he envisioned Wonder Woman as"basically Angelina Jolie.”Underworldstar Kate Beckinsale also toldYahoo!she was aware of her casting rumors, but she wasn’t too excited about the possibility.
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Characters like Wonder Woman are naturally synonymous with the biggest names who could play them, be it an A-list star with years of Hollywood cred or a breakout actor. As soon as aWonder Womanmovie seemed possible in the late 1990s, it was logical for fans, producers, writers, and directors alike to imagine what stars like Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie would look like in the role.Even in the mid-2010s, few would have guessed a supporting actor from theFast & Furiousfranchise would be cast as Wonder Woman instead of A-list fan-favorites like Megan Fox or Anne Hathaway.
Wonder Woman’s DCU actor might be one very few fans expect
After Gal Gadot left the role anda newWonder Womanmovie was announced by James Gunn, discussion about the next Diana Prince actor exploded, and various mid-2020s actors have been at the heart of the conversation.Scream’s Melissa Barrera,Andor’s Adria Arjona,Moon Knight’s May Calamawy,3 Body Problem’s Eiza Gonzalez, andMayfair Witches’ Alexandra Daddario are some of the most popular candidates. However, Wonder Woman’s DCU actor might be one very few fans expect.
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A Sandra Bullock- or Kate Beckinsale-ledWonder Womanmovie could have gone one of many ways. AWonder Womanmovie not tied to any cinematic universe could have beena critical and commercial hit likeBatman Beginsand led to at least two sequels; it could have been a bomb that removed the character from Hollywood for years, likeCatwomanorGreen Lantern;or it could have been a serviceable DC movie that stood on its own. Regardless,DC’s pre-DCEUWonder Womanmovie would have probably delayed the DC Extended Universe, as plans for an interconnected franchise weren’t on the table in the early two-thousands.
Wonder Woman
Cast
Released in 2017, Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as the titular Amazonian princess. Set during World War I, the film follows her journey from her sheltered island home to the world of Man as she seeks to combat malevolent forces and end human conflict alongside Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine.
