Whedonesque : Comments on 11938 : Who should play Wonder Woman?

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November 30 2006

Who should play Wonder Woman? The latest in a long, long, long line of articles about which actress (or even actor) should play the Amazon Princess. The article contains the usual indepth analysis you've come to expect from MTV but there's some nice quotes from Linda Carter and others.

Simon | Wonder Woman | 16:02 CET | 33 comments total | tags: wonder woman, joss whedon

Joss Whedon should play Wonder Woman.

havok | November 30, 17:04 CET

I'm sure Joss Whedon does play Wonder Woman, in his head.

Guys and gals, we went a month or so without a Wonder Woman lead speculation on Whedonesque thing! It's a mir-a-ble!

From the article;

It was announced in March that Kate Beckinsale got the part, but the announcement was retracted, with Beckinsale claiming she had already "embarrassed" her daughter enough

Hey MTV, I don't think you'll be providing the news for Variety any time soon. Although I suppose you didn't refer to Jewel as Jewel Whedon.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-11-30 15:13 ]

gossi | November 30, 17:08 CET

" usual indepth analysis you've come to expect from MTV" = what colour crayon to write tonight's news in!

Sorry, bad day!

catalyst2 | November 30, 17:58 CET

I wish the people who write about this movie would get it out of their heads it's an adaptation of the TV show.

batmarlowe | November 30, 18:07 CET

Joel and Joss should stage a reality show featuring ten unknowns, and let the public decide! *snerk* Sorry, I know Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian would sue if they did that. ;-) Apples and oranges anyway -- unlike Maria Von Trapp, Wonder Woman doesn't need to know how to sing.

chickenbird | November 30, 19:16 CET

Even if it IS MTV, theis short list, as a whole... (dons asbestos undwerwear) seems somewhat less silly than previous lists.

Still have faith that Joss will pick the right person. The good news about all this is that MTV may be *getting it* just a little bit, that CC or MB are better than Lindsay Lohan and her ilk. I view this as a piece that's designed to get those who read the popular press thinking "it's not going to be a well-known actress."

jclemens | November 30, 19:25 CET

Wonder Woman doesn't need to know how to sing.

What?!? It's not a musical? I thought Joss was doing the score, too! *snerk*

XanFan32 | November 30, 19:27 CET

At this point, there's really no one they could cast that wouldn't be a disappointment to somebody.

unreality | November 30, 20:20 CET

Wonder Woman is expected for release sometime next year.

I have no idea how long it takes to make a movie, but that's only 12mos and he isn't even done writing it - is that possible?

foofaraw | November 30, 20:26 CET

Oh sure, MTV, let's all speculate some more about who will play the role that Joss himself said last weekend, "he hasn't finished writing yet."

I still think Gina Torres would be a spectacular Wonder Woman, not just physically, but by her demeanor as an actress. Great dignity, humor, gravitas, and passion. But that's just me. Good with the casting much, Joss and Company over the years? I'd say A+, so I'll be happy with whomever he decides to cast.

[ edited by Tonya J on 2006-11-30 18:42 ]

Tonya J | November 30, 20:42 CET

Morena Baccarin: If you're a Joss Whedon fan, then you'll recognize Brazilian-born Baccarin from "Serenity" and "Firefly." Like Carpenter, she can be told what to do, where to sit and how to smile. It's almost as if Whedon has been training her for this opportunity her whole career.

(my emphasis)

WTF ? There must be a way they could've been more patronising ... nope, it's not coming to me.

Still, it's been a while since the last spec. thread. Morgan Freeman's still the front runner right ?

Saje | November 30, 21:28 CET

You missed a few more "long long long" in there.

The answer is easy: no one you've ever heard of.
Joss makes stars, he doesn't need stars to start with. They only distract from the story.
It *is* about the story, can you even remember that anymore Hollywood?

TaraLivesOn | November 30, 21:29 CET

Wait, you need a story in a movie? I wanted a 35 minute CGI fight in Zion! With people going ARGHHHHHHHHHHHGHGHGH and waving their arms at the camera.

gossi | November 30, 21:38 CET

Saje, I think we've moved on to Borat as the odds-on favorite.

;)

Willowy | November 30, 21:40 CET

Yeah, Saje, I read that line about 3 times, rubbing my eyes vigorously in between, but every time it was still there. Someone actually thought that, wrote it, and posted it on a website (and one presumes someone approved it). Sad...

jam2 | November 30, 21:40 CET

...she can be told what to do, where to sit and how to smile...

And if that isn't the essence of Wonder Woman, I don't know what is.

"Why do you write such strong women characters?"

"Because women need to be told what to do, where to sit, and how to smile."

theonetruebix | November 30, 21:40 CET

OMG theonetruebix, you too can translate the true subtext and nature of Joss' words.

gossi | November 30, 21:44 CET

Well, I vote for an unknown....unless Joss would like to don the tights and lasso...that might be interesting...and yet very disturbing....

jenofthejungle | November 30, 22:25 CET

Am I the only one who thinks that Wonder Woman should be entirely CGI, like The Hulk?

betwixt | November 30, 23:50 CET

No one does, sits and smiles the way you tell 'em to like Morgan Freeman. Except maybe Borat. Oh, and that Fillion guy has been twirling in Joss's back yard for months now. Yeah, MTV, you have now redefined the words "carefully analyzed and well-written" for me. (And, LMAO, theonetrueb!X!) ;-)

billz | November 30, 23:54 CET

This makes me miss the old MTV that was about MUSIC. And reminds me why I stopped watching them, ever.

Also annoying is the idea that she must be a mixture of traits from heroines from recent movies/shows. She's WONDER WOMAN. She predates all those characters they mention-- if anything they borrow from her. But in either case, far better to describe traits than say things like "She will be like Wonder Woman with sai!"

Descriptions like "She can kill you with a pinkie" are always better.

Sunfire | December 01, 00:20 CET

I thought it was settled by this

Anusien | December 01, 01:08 CET

"...she can be told what to do, where to sit and how to smile..."

Saje: "WTF ? There must be a way they could've been more patronising ... nope, it's not coming to me."

O.O! WTF!, indeed!

And I'm sure there's a way I could be more annoyed by an article, but... nope it's not coming to me right now. Ladies and Gentlemen, let's have a round of applause for the fine folks of the fourth estate at MTV...

"...she can be told what to do, where to sit and how to smile..."

theonetruebix: "And if that isn't the essence of Wonder Woman, I don't know what is."

'Why do you write such strong women characters?'

'Because women need to be told what to do, where to sit, and how to smile.' "

b!x, you bop, boy! That's perfect.

1) Morena obviously deserves better than that little dig and 2) yah, that description really sounds like Joss's: "You know, she is intimidating, because she is an Amazon and a princess, and somebody who believes very strongly in what she is. I don’t believe that she’s an intimidating feminist in the sense that that term’s usually used. It’s not because she’s a feminist that she’s intimidating, it’s because she’s frikkin’ Wonder Woman. And, um, you know, she can kill you with her pinkie."

Jeez'm Crow, MTV, you've come a long way, Baby.

QuoterGal | December 01, 01:33 CET

Eh - I must have skimmed over the bit about Morena. But I thought they'd tossed in her and Charisma mostly as a sop to whedon-fans like us. I at least appreciate them bringing up the Bollywood actress as an example of thinking outside of the box.

No offense to anyone (hey jclemens, can I borrow those asbestos trunks?) - while Gina and Charisma are lovely women, but they're a touch old to play Wonder Woman. Maybe her older sisters, or young aunts, but not Ms. Diana herself. Maybe Summer Glau could do it, if she buffed up a little.

Kyrax | December 01, 02:32 CET

I love that young woman who was in the film Whale Rider, Keisha Castle-Hughes. She's 16 or 17 now and has a lovely presence.

Tonya J | December 01, 02:47 CET

Jeez'm Crow, MTV, you've come a long way, Baby.

Quite, QuoterGal. Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. And falling fast.

Saje, I think we've moved on to Borat as the odds-on favorite.

"Hallo, America peoples ! I is coming from Themiscyrakstan to learn the ways of the man-world and find out, how you say ?, true womens doing sits and smiles. Steve Trevor ! Comes here ! We make sexy-tiiime ! Jagsemash !"

Briefly flashed on Sasha Baron Cohen in the outfit too. Yikes. Anyone know how to un-flash ? This unit is damaged ;).

Saje | December 01, 02:56 CET

Saje, if you figure it out let me know. I'm still trying to recover from seeing Cohen in a lime-green thong-type bathing suit as one of (can't remember the list, possibly MSN) a 100 most Sexy Men of 2006 video.

[ edited by Tonya J on 2006-12-01 01:05 ]

Tonya J | December 01, 03:04 CET

Oh, yeah, Tonya J, it was "People Magazine's 100 Sexiest Men Alive" or something, and I believe we all spoke at the time about how much we enjoyed Borat in that stunning lime costume...

The special suit under discussion...

There's no known cure for this kind of exposure and the subsequent brain damage. If you've seen something like this, you're permanently affected. Maybe if we can ever get expanded stem cell research going, we'd have a shot at an effective treatment, but at the moment, you're just stuck with it...

I'm sorry. I have it, too.

QuoterGal | December 01, 03:24 CET

Well, after having seen the excellent "Day Break" series, I'm afraid I'll have to bump Morena to second place - the nice and nicely exotic Moon Bloodgood should clearly be cast :)

Pumps | December 01, 03:57 CET

Unless it's a 'Wonder Woman Begins' story requiring a younger actress, I second the Gina Torres nomination. She is an Amazon.

spikeverse | December 01, 04:08 CET

"You're working on the Wonder Woman film-will she be another feisty teenager like Buffy? 

She's going to be a little bit older but her age is left unstated. She's going through an adolescent rite of passage because she's new to the world. She comes from a civilisation where she's rather perfect, so she's the opposite to Buffy in many ways."
-- Joss Whedon, 50 Second interview with Andrew Williams, March, 2006, http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=10515&in_page_id=11

"You’ve also talked about her being very young. Are you thinking college-age? Teen-ager?

I’d say that’s a pretty flexible thing because it’s her first time setting foot in the world of men. But that doesn’t necessarily mean she has to be a teen-ager. So, yes, they are thinking of a young woman. They’re thinking, I expect, of something franchise-able."
-- Joss Whedon, interview with Mike Jozic, Fall 2005, http://www.infocusmag.com/05augustseptember/whedonuncut.htm and
http://www.mikejozic.com

QuoterGal | December 01, 05:07 CET

franchise-able

It's like "heroicaller".

theonetruebix | December 01, 05:10 CET

I love the idea of Wonder Woman stepping into a city full of people, meeting men, and not understanding how to deal with them. Nor them deal with her. From a story telling perspective (ie the arcs! the emotion! the funny!) there's a lot you can do with it. I'm not sure where I'd put an invisible jet, though.

gossi | December 01, 06:00 CET

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