So... who SHOULD be cast as Wonder Woman?

I kid, I kid!

(And though I don't really give a crap about the character of Iron Man, I think Timothy Olyphant would make the perfect Tony Stark. Not that that has a single thing to do with WW or Joss Whedon... just throwin' it out there.)

Haunt | August 04, 01:56 CET

Joss has bemoaned? Little strong, isn't it?

pat32082 | August 04, 02:06 CET

I think that's a pretty good call Haunt (though i'm not really an Iron-man fan either). Olyphant's got the clean cut good looks but he can also bring the darkness (big style). Interesting to see Marvel putting it on at (roughly) the same time as 'The Dark Knight' though. Seems potentially risky.

(actually with 'Wolverine' also possibly released in 2008 - says it's filming next year - that could be a really good year for super-hero movies)

I know these lists are arbitrary but is 'Transformers' really more eagerly anticipated than the next Batman film and 'Wolverine 'and a Joss Whedon (i.e. apart from anything else fanboy favourite due to AXM) written/directed 'Wonder Woman' ? Seems a bit unlikely s'all.

Saje | August 04, 02:11 CET

I thought Joss had decided on Morgan Freeman. Natural choice, if you ask me.

Rogue Slayer | August 04, 02:47 CET

"Grumbling" and "bemoaning"...someone went out of his or her way to make Joss sound rather charming. And due to site rules, that's as far as I'm going to take it :)

MySerenity | August 04, 03:00 CET

Whether or not Joss fans consider it bemoaning, many DC fanboys take most of Joss comments in a negative light. On a DC related message board I am constantly accused for being a Joss apologist because I don't automatically take Joss' statements in the most negative light possible. I have heard many a call for Joss to quit the project because of quotes like "the script is difficult" and his underenthusiastic adoption of Wonder Woman's rogue gallery.

The author's interpretion is a pretty accurate of general opinion once you get out of the Jossverse fandom.

IrrationaliTV | August 04, 03:10 CET

Sorry. Double post.

[ edited by TamaraC on 2006-08-04 01:11 ]

IrrationaliTV | August 04, 03:11 CET

Mischa Barton?

My god, no.

dainichijess | August 04, 03:15 CET

Saje, TransFormers is hugely popular in some corners--and while I personally am sceptical about how good the movie will be, I know I'll go see it regardless. Make of that what you will.

Dainichijess, don't worry. Even if she was cast, the first action scene she'd try, she'd snap in half. ;-)

Niels van Eekelen | August 04, 03:56 CET

I'm with Daini on the Mischa Barton thing.

Being both a long time Transformers and WW fan, no matter what the word is, I will end up seeing them on the first day. I'm glad they will be getting to cast an unknown in WW, well they better damn it! I think it worked out pretty well for Superman. This is why I'm not on comic book boards at all, I can be somewhat serious about my favorites but I don't require strict adherence to loving everything about the originals.

I was only 4 when the original WW television series started, I probably would never have picked up a comic if I would have been old enough to understand fully what was going on in it. 70s censorship and bad martial arts be damned, I'm rooting for Joss going with the modern comics for the most part.

Flipping that guy into a pool, oh yeah, he'll be out for hours.

ErynTzun | August 04, 04:17 CET

TamaraC: I know what you're saying about the angry, angry fanboys. On the Newsarama message board I saw a number of people who claimed that Wonder Woman was ruined because they heard a rumour Joss was going to create his own nemesis.

betwixt | August 04, 04:36 CET

I've only ever read a couple Ghost Rider comics and haven't been able to get all that excited about the film, but I'm looking forward to it a bit more now that I see Wes Bentley's gonna be in it. He seemed to disappear pretty quick after American Beauty and a few other efforts (The Claim, The Four Feathers--he and Heath Ledger were good in that average teen-targeted period piece, Kate Hudson was pretty awful--and that lame horror flick he did with Eliza Dushku). Nicholas Cage is an interesting choice. Better this than him being Superman, as was almost bizarrely the case.

Seeing Wonder Woman to see what Joss does with it. Never read any of her comics (unless you count her part in that stupid Marvel vs. DC thing in the `90s) though I might've enjoyed the TV series when I was little. I know I watched it and I know that my mom liked it, can't remember how I felt about it though.

A Fantastic Four sequel already? It seemed to take three years between each X-Men and Spider-Man flick, so only two years isn't a bad wait. I unapologetically admit I enjoyed it last summer when me and my Marvel-loving friend saw it opening night. Went in with very lowered expectations (though I thought it had a promising trailer), so it turned out all right. Michael Chiklis (The Shield) as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch were perfect in their parts, Ioan Gruffudd was okay as a younger Reed Richards, and Jessica Alba was awful as Sue. Julian McMahon, who was awesome in that first season of Nip/Tuck I watched a couple years ago, was a bit underwhelming as Doom unfortunately. Good for Doug Jones nabbing the part of Silver Surfer (he was one of the Gentlemen in "Hush"). Does that character's presence in the film mean that we'll have to endure the cheesyness of Galactus though? Unless they revamp him X-Men-film-franchise-style, then it might not be so bad.

Heh, I might be up for the computer animated Turtles movie. The teaser shows that they at least have the look right. Not a purist, so I don't care if the story's closer to the original gritty comics, the first cartoon that was more goofy and bright, or the 2003-spawned Fox series that followed the comics a bit better. I'm guessing and hoping it won't be a continuation of the live action film franchise though.

Iron Man, meh. But then I do like Jon Favreau.

I still haven't read the comic, but 300 being from Frank Miller = promise. Period piece war epics are so hit and miss though and it seems like there've been too many of them.

Of course I'm looking forward to The Dark Knight. The only thing that was wrong with Batman Begins was Katey Holmes and the forced relationship angle (can we have at least one major superhero flick without romance being part of the equation?), so hopefully she's gone for the sequel. Would never have suggested Heath Ledger for The Joker, but it could work. He's got a big smile. I don't think he's ever played a grotesque-type role before (assuming The Joker get a chemical bath or puts on some ghoulish make-up). I'm happy about the choice. :)

Very hopeful for Transformers. Own the original series on DVD, some good eps and arcs among the many more average and lame fillers make it worthwhile. That and the nostalgia, of course. Hope to buy those three seasons of Beast Wars as well soon, which is really the only thing that fits as a continuation of the franchise (those embarrassing Japanese re-imaginings should be ignored). Beast Wars was a lot better than the original TFs, really, even if it didn't produce toys that as many people liked. Very well-written, some genuinely affecting emotional eps here and there, more involving voice acting in comparison to most of the original's actors, and some surprising and well-thought-out connections to the original. The only thing that really stands up to Beast Wars from the original series is the animated TF movie (anyone else own the soundtrack?), which I'll finally buy when they release a 20th Anniversary DVD this November.

This live action/CG adaptation could so easily suck, but yeah, still hopeful.

IGN has Spider-Man 3 in their #1-most-anticipated slot and while it wouldn't be my pick, I'm also hugely looking forward to it. I'm gonna take a risk and get my hopes up that this'll be even better than #2, which I thought was better than #1. A much smaller cast and less agendas to service will hopefully have it not ending up an entertaining but mess of an entry like X-Men 3 felt like after the brilliance of X2 (which built and improved on its original so perfectly).

Kris | August 04, 05:35 CET

Unfortunately, I don't hold out a lot of hope for Spiderman 3 unless its going to be about 4 hours long. From watching the trailers online, it appears to me that they are trying to cram WAY too much into this film. Venom, Gwen Stacy, Sandman, and Hobgoblin is just too much ground to cover. I had also been hoping that they would use the man-wolf story arc with the introduction of John Jameson, but I can't blame them for going with the more recent and popular Venom arc.

The_Joker | August 04, 14:39 CET

I hate to say it, but the fact that WW is so far down that list is bad news. (seriously, #9?!?!)

This just underscores how I'm of two minds about this movie.

On the plus side: anything Joss does, I'm going to see. It's as simple as that. I have faith in his vision, wherever it should take him.

On the other hand: do people want a WW movie? Before Superman Returns opened, I asked the same question because I was the only person I knew who was actively looking forward to it (and 90% because Bryan Singer was directing it). I think most people are a little wary of female superhero movies, for good reason, and the casting of an unknown won't help. The majority of people don't get the cachet of Joss's name; they do understand the appeal of say, Angelina Jolie in a corset and panties. (On the other hand, Halle Berry, Jennifer Garner and Charlize Theron all sunk with their respective movies.) If the movie is great, if the studio lets Joss film it as he wants, and the movie bombs at the box office, it will significantly hurt his career. And I will cry like a little baby if that should happen.

I swear I'm going to be in more angst concerning the box office take of this movie than the actual quality. I hate that show business is brutally a business.

dottikin | August 04, 15:32 CET

All in all, it is only #9 because Joss is on the project. This is far from a guarantee to even get off the ground, and except for the "Sacrifice" comic storyline several months ago, she has been out of the comic mainstream for a long time. I hope that Joss can get this one going, but even quality won't assure that this film will make money.

rockchalkwatcher | August 04, 16:37 CET