March 17 2005
Joss Whedon Confirmed for Wonder Woman.
Joss Whedon has signed to write and direct Wonder Woman, a live-action film adaptation of the DC Comics character for Warner Bros. Pictures. Joel Silver and Leonard Goldberg are producing. Update: Click here to see the official movie teaser poster.
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Way to go Joss!
miss_tress | March 17, 10:11 CET
Therefore, I am sad.
aerelorn | March 17, 10:17 CET
He signed on, so it was obviously something he wanted to do. Congrats Joss! I really look forward to it.
Angela | March 17, 10:18 CET
Emma Frost | March 17, 10:21 CET
Anyway, this is a great step for Joss. Our boy is well and truly on his way to complete world domination, or uhm, that Hollywood stardom thing. Happy dance!
For those who can't get into the idea of WW as a movie by anyone, let alone Joss, consider that this is the kind of big budget/high profile project that will probably springboard Joss into the ranks of writer/directors who will have studios vying for his work in any medium for years to come. There is no bad in this -- taking this job is a no-brainer. Even if the actual movie sucks (which I doubt), it will almost certainly make a ton of dough and get worldwide attention for Joss.
Then perhaps Mr. Whedon can open the doors at Mutant Enemy once again, bring back his writing staff, and start making tv shows worth loving. He can make a Broadway musical or a ballet. Start a theater company, a clothing line, any frelling thing he wants. And he'll probably still carry that girly knapsack, bless his heart.
Numfar, do the dance of joy!
[ edited by punkinpuss on 2005-03-17 08:54 ]
punkinpuss | March 17, 10:22 CET
electricspacegirl | March 17, 10:26 CET
jpr | March 17, 10:29 CET
"Wonder Woman is the most iconic female heroine of our time, but in a way, no one has met her yet," - I hope so because the one I've met so far, I didn't like!
"She's someone who doesn't belong in this world, and since everyone I know feels that way about themselves, the character clicked for me." - yes, that sounds like promising territory! In fact, that type of approach is just perfect for Joss' wonderful talents!
"She has super strength, bracelets that deflect bullets and a golden lasso that ensnares victims and forces them to tell the truth. She has, at times, even had her own super vehicle, an invisible plane." - and if this is what she has got in this incarnation, then (and I hate to say this) this thing is dead in the water regardless!
I am so conflicted over this!
Yes and no, I think, maybe!
*head explodes in gouts of green goo*
catalyst2 | March 17, 10:32 CET
kittyholmes | March 17, 10:33 CET
Congratulations, Joss.
newcj | March 17, 10:35 CET
prospero | March 17, 10:43 CET
For all that I, and many others, may want a Buffyverse motion picture, for a multitude of reasons that could very well include Joss not being interested, we may never get one. That being the case, if he sees value and opportunity in this project, for whatever his personal reasons, I'm behind him.
Or, he likes WW and just felt like it. What do I know?
[ edited by Angela on 2005-03-17 09:18 ]
Angela | March 17, 10:45 CET
RavenU | March 17, 10:50 CET
He's done Buffy and Buffy is more big then Wonderwoman I say, why the hell can't Fox and Joss do a Buffy/Angel film, his creation, everyone's getting old!!
SeanValen | March 17, 10:51 CET
zz9 | March 17, 10:57 CET
ShotgunWes | March 17, 11:05 CET
The key words for me here are "write and direct," meaning that the studio confidence is there to give him creative control. Oh, and "reinvention." Given the way that Joss took various disparate mythological elements and wove them into BtVS, AtS, and Firefly in a manner that was contemporary and relevant, I have absolutely no doubt that he will make a terrific movie.
SoddingNancyTribe | March 17, 11:05 CET
Christopher | March 17, 11:15 CET
In a world replete with Spider-, Bat- and Super-dudes (cool fellas all, admittedly, but representing only half of the viewing public), chicks need superheroes, too -- I say go, Joss, go and give it all you've got! Let's hear it for the Ladies in the house!
And when you get a nanosecond, Joss, would you be so kind as to stop by here and mercilessly tease us with some tantalizing details of this shiny new deal? Please? I crave the torment of semi-knowing what I might be in for...
Wiseblood | March 17, 11:17 CET
Go Joss.
eddy | March 17, 11:21 CET
[ edited by Samantha on 2005-03-17 09:25 ]
Samantha | March 17, 11:25 CET
Sunnycide | March 17, 11:25 CET
Drifter | March 17, 11:39 CET
Simon | March 17, 11:49 CET
eddy | March 17, 11:53 CET
Simon | March 17, 12:01 CET
[ edited by BurkleFreak on 2005-03-17 10:08 ]
BurkleFreak | March 17, 12:08 CET
I also hope of course, this will establish him as a movie director (along with Serenity obviously, but that has less chance of being a summer popcorn block buster...probably...and sadly) Joss with clout is always a good thing. As for how Wonder Woman would appeal to the mainstream audience....not a friggin' clue.
Now I'm also REALLY curious what they're gonna do with that costume.....
EdDantes | March 17, 12:09 CET
I'm pleased. I'd give anything with his name attached a try.
Flair | March 17, 12:09 CET
SoddingNancyTribe | March 17, 12:15 CET
In all seriousness though, congratulations to The Joss. It's so thoughtful of him to keep giving this site its raison d'etre.
Caroline | March 17, 12:16 CET
eddy | March 17, 12:19 CET
BurkleFreak | March 17, 12:29 CET
Was the actress confirmed already?
Revello | March 17, 12:32 CET
eddy | March 17, 12:36 CET
Simon | March 17, 12:37 CET
[ edited by BurkleFreak on 2005-03-17 10:40 ]
BurkleFreak | March 17, 12:40 CET
I don't think I could face another "which Buffyverse actress should play Wonder Woman?" debate lol. Personally, I think it will go to an unknown. But this is Joss' big day, so perhaps we'll leave the debate till the spec articles start coming out.
Simon | March 17, 12:49 CET
Blacklodge | March 17, 12:50 CET
BurkleFreak | March 17, 12:51 CET
I know some people has genuine doubts about the success of a Wonder Woman movie because the character is not that well known to the general public. But thinking about it, Hellboy and Blade did awfully well at the box office. And those comic book characters were did not have huge public recognition.
Simon | March 17, 13:10 CET
But a part of me is sad. I’m pretty sure both Serenity and Wonder Woman will be successful, and as a result, I can’t help but wonder if Joss’ TV days are in the past.
fr0g | March 17, 13:12 CET
Morena Baccarin
for Wonder Woman!Barry Woodward | March 17, 13:31 CET
Shade of Pale | March 17, 13:34 CET
prospero | March 17, 13:38 CET
Oh, and the Stephanie Romanov idea? This might be typecasting just a little, but if ever decides to use a (brunette) Veronica Cale...I can so see her in the role!
Emma Frost | March 17, 13:48 CET
Yes, but we've never really had the chance to see her in a tough role. I think she has potential, a unique look and if anyone can bring the "tough" out of her, it's Joss.
I'm a fan of Charisma too but Warner Brothers is going to want sequels and as such, they'll want to cast someone in their twenties.
[ edited by Barry Woodward on 2005-03-17 11:59 ]
Barry Woodward | March 17, 13:52 CET
As for WW. I'm a bit 'meh', either way, but I'm sure he'll can do a good job and with the Joel "I don't make movies to be art - I make movies to buy art" Silver machine behind him, i'tll be big.
biki | March 17, 13:56 CET
I suppose it is debateable how well movies like Catwoman or Elektra would have done with Joss behind them. Maybe his name would have turned them around. Who knows? It's possible. However i have a nasty feeling that this is going to follow in the footsteps of those two movies regardless.
I personally love superhero movies, especially anything Marvel related, because i spent a lot of my childhood reading them. The problem is that the general public interest in them seems to be dropping away. There has been so many in recent years that they have become way too generic and what will make it worse is that there are still a lot more to come. Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, X-3, Wolverine, Spidey 3, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, need i go on?
Joss will have my support with this movie regardless of the fact i don't really care about Wonder Woman. I'll be there at the cinema, most likely the night it opens, as i'm sure everyone here will try to be. Will that be enough to make this a success when it is up against so many other (dare i say more popular) superhero movies? We will have to wait and see.
Technopagan | March 17, 14:01 CET
palehorse | March 17, 14:35 CET
fannews site.( I am going to go off and assume that everyone else is like me.*) When talking about WW people often mention catwomen or elektra. I don't know about other people, but I (*told you) didn't see those movies because of how bad I heard they were. If Joss were to make WW interesting and actually funny then the movie might get good reviews, and have good word of mouth advertising.
My biggest worry is that Joss wants to give us a Buffy-quality hero, and some suits and marketing people decide, by committee, to give us Jar Jar. I can imagine the type of marketing this movie might end up with if placed in the wrong hands. It ain't pretty.
But hey! It can't be all that bad. Even if you are scarred for life by a previous Wonder Woman experience hopefully Joss will make a movie that you can enjoy on the surface. Just pretend it's Adam West instead.
[ edited by Caleb on 2005-03-17 12:41 ]
Caleb | March 17, 14:39 CET
eddy | March 17, 14:45 CET
Technopagan | March 17, 14:53 CET
Koos | March 17, 15:20 CET
Ideally, they'll find a talented unknown. However, this is Hollywood. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up with Nicole Kidman in a wig. Or even worse: Jennifer Garner.
I can't stand Garner and would like to keep her clear of this property. She sucked as Elektra. Personally I never believed her in the Alias role. She's a pretty girl. WW is an amazon warrior. WW is a kickass princess who's more than just pretty.
I trust that if left in charge without political backseat driving by studio executives, Whedon will find the right people to help him with the project, and write the best story to create the best possible film. All this speculation is a lot of fun, but to be honest I'm just happy to see the guy working on a new project. It's a good sign for us. Otherwise we wouldn't have a lot to talk about until September.
ZachsMind | March 17, 15:23 CET
GINA TORRES.
As a Classicist I can go on and on about why it would be fine for an Amazon to have dark skin (blah blah mediterranean, blah blah Africa, blah blah). I can not think of a woman more Amazonian than Gina Torres, in fact.
And even though I love Jennifer Garner, I too don't see her in this role. From the article at comingsoon, it seems Joss is looking for someone who can play the classic Wonder Woman's strength while adding some vulnerability. I'm so hung up on the idea of Gina Torres doing it that I can't think of anyone else right now...
I'm not worried that Joss will betray the character, but the casting decisions don't reside with him alone. I really doubt the role would go to an unknown. It just doesn't seem like studios would want such a big title led by someone nobody's heard of.
Mostly I think if they keep it safe from Halle Berry, it will all be okay. (I have a thing, about Halle Berry and comic book roles. And how she should stay far, far away from them.)
Kiba | March 17, 15:29 CET
Djungelurban | March 17, 15:44 CET
Koos | March 17, 15:51 CET
If Wonder Woman has any hope of being a success among the current glut of superhero movies it will need to at least attract its basic fanbase, the comic fans, who are going to want a white Wonder Woman. Simple as that. I mean, i know how annoyed i would have been if they had used a white actress to play Storm in X-Men, or if they had painted Alan Cummings yellow for the part of Nightcrawler. :)
The one thing i cannot argue with regarding what this movie has going for it is that the lead character is an icon. Lose the iconic image and you don't even have that benefit anymore.
Technopagan | March 17, 15:56 CET
rockchalkwatcher | March 17, 16:02 CET
because she was made to play a Super Hero!
CONGRATULATIONS TO JOSS!
Yes, I know we restrain ourselves here, with regard to the capital letters...but this is very exciting news.
Just as Joss managed to zero into the most iconic aspects of X-Men, in his 'Astonishing X-men',
I am expecting Joss to retell the saga of Wonder Woman so that she is 100% true to the original comic creation,
and 100% fresh, funny and exciting!
(She'll be everything that Cat Woman wasn't)
I know that this will be a great film, and I'll be excited to hear who is cast for the role.
They might go with a big name, but personally I'm rooting for Gina.
embers | March 17, 16:02 CET
I think Gina may be a concideration even for the lead, cause if you think about it - she has worked for both Joel (Matrix films) and Joss, so you never know.
RavenU | March 17, 16:17 CET
On the plus side, any movie written by Joss is pure Joss, unadulterated Joss, nothing but Joss, all natural goodness with no pithy bits floating around. (How often do you think I can say Joss in one post? Watch me!)
On the ‘I now have to lie awake at night and worry’ side, I sincerely hope Joss has put the lady into an ironclad, teflon coated, treble locked creative chastity belt so she doesn’t get screwed by this particular studio (track record not good).
On a personal level, fantastically exited about Joss writing, less so about the subject, but looking forward to consuming large helpings of humble pie when all my worries turn out to be unfounded. (I’ll take that with a bit of Angel pudding on the side please.)
miranda | March 17, 16:22 CET
prospero | March 17, 16:22 CET
[ edited by Djungelurban on 2005-03-17 14:47 ]
Djungelurban | March 17, 16:47 CET
JudithS | March 17, 17:04 CET
ariana75 | March 17, 17:12 CET
Angelina Jolie is already Lara Croft. She's not allowed to be Wonder Woman as well. It's against the law. (Thankfully this rule also automatically vetoes Halle Berry from coming within 500 yards of the project.) Besides, Angelina's busy becoming Catherine The Great for her next movie. Landing the Wonder Woman gig would be too much for even Cosmopolitan magazine's first "perfect woman"'s ego to handle.
I actually have no idea who they should cast as Wonder Woman.. every name (besides Lynda Carter) that springs to mind is quickly followed by a "Nah, that'd suck."
Bad Kitty | March 17, 17:15 CET
BurkleFreak | March 17, 17:20 CET
I know nothing about WW, but I'd go see a movie about a paper cup as long as he wrote and directed it.
In the meantime lets here some ideas about a new TV series... huh Joss, huh?????
Spikecam21 | March 17, 17:24 CET
Wouldn't it be great if Joss was able to do awesome comic-book adaptation when all the others in recent history have been fairly terrible? The pundits are harshly predicting he will fail if only because they don't think "Wonder Woman" is a popular enough character.
By the way, does anyone remember ISIS ? I think it aired around the same time as the old Wonder Woman tv series and those two were my favorites back then...
[ edited by TaraLivesOn on 2005-03-17 15:40 ]
TaraLivesOn | March 17, 17:29 CET
I remember ISIS! And Shazaam (sp?!)
marmoset | March 17, 17:38 CET
Eh darn, she is "only" 5' 8" - it's gonna have to be someone six foot to get that "amazon" image. Then again the hobbits were played by large adults, just hollywood "magic" to fix it all.
[ edited by TaraLivesOn on 2005-03-17 15:52 ]
TaraLivesOn | March 17, 17:45 CET
redfern | March 17, 18:03 CET
Here's an idea. How about Sarah Thompson??
Just kidding :)
Personally, I don't really care who's cast, as long she can hold her own in serious material. I'm just afraid that this movie might break Joss. After all, how much can he do for a Charater that's so messed up in 2 hours? Even Buffy took a year to find it's feet.
Regardless, my best wishes to him.
NickSeng | March 17, 18:03 CET
Truthfully, if people are willing and able to ignore the fact that Wonder Woman is meant to be white in order to have Gina Torres in the role, i don't see any reason why the actress would need to be particularly tall. I mean, if getting the skin colour acurate isn't a big deal then why would height be an issue? In fact we could keep going even further and have a guy play the role, making Wonder Woman the first transvestite superhero to hit the big screen.
J. August Richards should be expecting a call from Joss in the near future i feel! :)
Only joking, but my point is that there is going to have to be certain aspects of the character adhered to if this movie has any chance of making it passed the comic book reader critics. Constantine is being panned by a great number of Hellraiser readers because Keanu Reeves has black hair when the character should have been blonde! It's all in the detail!
Technopagan | March 17, 18:09 CET
I seem to remember that was the consensus of opinion back in the late 80s regarding Tim Burton and the first Batman movie. The 60s tv series did unconsciously prejudice people's minds into thinking that a proper Batman movie would never work.
A movie studio should not have to pander to two hundred online fans. And neither should Joss. If it's felt for the right reasons that changes have to be made, then make them. And I really doubt WB and Joss will go all Catwoman on us. If the movie is done properly, who needs comic book movie reader critics?
Simon | March 17, 18:13 CET
VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt | March 17, 18:16 CET
Being a Hellraiser fan myself, I can tell you it's being panned not because they changed the colour of his hair, but the essense of the character. It was an OK movie, and I wouldn't have had this much problem with it if they didn't say it was based on "Hellraiser" when it doesn't. All it does it take character names, and stick it to totally unrecognisable characters.
I'm not saying that changes shouldn't be made, I had no problem with X-men and Spidey, but they shouldn't take away the essense of the character.
Okay, rant over. Sorry.
I have enormous faith in Joss, yet I can't seem to get my hopes up. There's always the possibility that it's gonna be another Buffy movie, and then Joss will be stuck with that.
Regardless of what is being said, I'd still be the first in line to watch it. It's Joss, after all. :)
NickSeng | March 17, 18:21 CET
I am worried that this whole comic-book-based movies bubble will burst before WW comes out. Perhaps that is why the movie's slated for a 2006 release. Don't get me wrong, I personally love comic-books and superhereos and all that jazz, but I worry.
Notwithstanding, congrats Joss and best of luck.
rsfayez | March 17, 18:30 CET
First Universal, now Warner Brothers.
Mycroft | March 17, 18:39 CET
First Universal, now Warner Brothers.
Very true. What also impresses me is that if Wonder Woman does get a summer 2006 release, it that means we get to watch two Joss films in less than the space of a year.
Simon | March 17, 18:42 CET
While I am not really a big Wonder Woman fan....I really have TRIED to enjoy the comicbook on several attempts, but...no!
However if there is ANYONE who could make WW work on the big screen, it is Joss. Awsome!!!
Now all ai need is a Buffy/Angel-verse spinn-off :-)
rsfayez - I understand your fear in regards to the "comic-book-based movies bubble". But from what I understand Hollywood has realised that for every LXG and Cat Woman you have an X-Men or Spiderman or evern a Ghost World and maybe Road to Perdition.
It is not that a movie is based on a comicbook or not that makes it a hit. It is the end result that matters.
Oh, well...what do I know anyway.......
Jonas | March 17, 18:46 CET
I'm usually not one for speculating. For example, I have no opinions about who should or should not play the character. I'm just fascinated to find out how Joss decides to go. Will it be an attempt to make a film with mass-market appeal? Will he go back to the source material and make something acceptable to the fans of the comic? Will he take a radical direction and do something really unexpected? I'm rather hoping for the latter.
Whatever he does is going to be tricky and will end up disappointing or upsetting some of the audience. I probably have an advantage in knowing nothing at all about the source material because all I hope for is a good film, and it will make no difference to me if it's the real Wonder Woman or not.
alien lanes | March 17, 18:46 CET
Me too. I know nothing about the comics but as a character Wonder Woman just seems unbelievably outdated.
Grounded | March 17, 18:51 CET
Normally i would agree with this one hundred percent. For instance, i am well aware that Hugh Jackman is far too tall to realistically have portrayed Wolverine in X-Men. However, regardless of all the whining comic book fans at the time, he got the role and truly made the part his own. Personally, despite being a massive Wolvie fan, the height discrepency never bothered me in the slightest.
However this isn't X-Men we are talking about. Wonder Woman isn't anywhere near as popular and is going to need it's core fanbase (the comic reader) onside for this to work. If the movie Wonder Woman goes too far away from what they wanted then they won't watch. If that happens the movie loses a large number of it's potential viewers.
Changes are neccessary when transfering a comic book character to the big screen, but a black actress playing a character that is very well know as being white, especially when there is no good, logical reason to make the change? That is taking things a step too far for most of the fans in my honest opinion.
Technopagan | March 17, 19:01 CET
I'm not too worried about Joss going too "mass-market appeal." The man's creative impulses are too inspired to be constrained by the pathetic limits of mass-market tastes. Like dashboardprophet, I'm thinking (hoping) that Joss will take this story and character in an unusual and fascinating direction. This does not necessarily exclude box office success. If Joss is able to reinvigorate WW's iconic status then the crowds should love it. Joss is a master storyteller and while Buffy and Angel were "cult" hits, they were hits nonetheless. Seven years and five years, respectively, is a long time for tv shows to run.
phlebotinin | March 17, 19:05 CET
The second reason I am sad is because as stated before I think this will be a TITANIC undertaking. Out of all the superhero movies to date, this one translates the worst to modern times. This will be next to impossible to get the hard core WW to bite with the changes that will be required to get this character on film. Not to mention getting main stream fans to think the character is cool enough to want to see this film.
I am happy that so many JW fans have pledged their support. However, it's not our support he has to win. It's the support of the masses he has to win over so the studio makes money. This movie will be a long shot at best at being a hit. I really hope JW can pull this off. I really do. I just don't think he will.
RIP BUFFY. RIP ANGEL.
DarenG | March 17, 19:10 CET
killinj | March 17, 19:10 CET
SillyD | March 17, 19:18 CET
I've stated before I've always been mostly a DC fan, more than a Marvel fan. Actually I couldn't say I'm a marvel fan, I'm mostly a X-Books fan and that's it. It would be a perfect world the day I see Joss handling the Titans, which is still something I see in my dreams.
Diana, has always been delegated with a lesser part of the big three in the DC Comics, but has always been a continous part in the hole structure of the DC Universe.
Of course I'm courious about the casting, but I'm mostly curious about the approach that Joss will take on this. I'm was a big fan of both how George Perez handled her in the 90's, and I did enjoy how Phil Jimenez handled in his run couple years ago (even though he ain't the most skilled writer). Sam Raimi proved that it's not impossible to keep the colorful costumes and most of the character's features from the comics, without keeping it belivable and in some extent "real".
Plus we know Joss. I know he can pull this off. And since Joel SIlver and the Warner execs worked so hard to get him, we can believe that they won't give Joss too much input and change his vision, keeping the movie as close as Joss envisioned it.
Numfar PTB | March 17, 19:32 CET
grrarrgh00 | March 17, 19:33 CET
yay for joss!!!! :D
buffyfanatic18 | March 17, 19:39 CET
Paul_Rocks | March 17, 19:56 CET
Firefly Flanatic | March 17, 20:02 CET
My point is, Joss is gonna kick butt making this!
Creative control people, this is a good thing.
I do feel sad about the real end of Buff and Angel, but he is multifaceted and very good at deligating, so don't count the slayverse as lost complettely. He may still surprise us.
Kisses for Joss, well done matey!
nixygirl | March 17, 20:08 CET
Jack Gladney | March 17, 20:24 CET
Can't say I've ever been that interested in the character, and, like a few others, I'd love to see Joss either return to the worlds he's created or create new ones, either on TV or the movies. But... All that said, I'm keeping an open mind. Hopefully he can find depths in the character and make her interesting. I'll certainly go see it, and am really curious to see what he does with an already existing superhero character. I will say... I hope he finds the way to lose, or update, the costume...
acp | March 17, 20:39 CET
zeitgeist | March 17, 20:45 CET
But then on the flip side, two-hour shots are better than nothing at all. And with the extra clout, my fingers will remain crossed for Big Screen Buffy.
Jet Wolf | March 17, 20:49 CET
prospero | March 17, 21:14 CET
I never think people should stray too far from characters. Stick to what already works. And whatever little thing you can do to get it a little closer to the actual character, do it unless you have a good reason not to. As for actresses....I don't know.
-Jennifer Garner; I agree she's too much of a cute coed with sad eyes. In spite of her athletic ability I never buy her in those tough roles either. And she couldn't be bothered to dye her hair black for Elektra (Also a greek woman) so why would she for Wonder Woman?
-Stephanie Romanov; love her, but not the type and a little too old.
-Sigourney Weaver; love her but too old. (Around the time of Ghostbusters I would've been good)
-Catherine Zeta Jones; Now she definitely has the goddess looks, but may be too old too, and no idea if she can be a concincing warrior
-Kim basinger; DON'T make me laugh.
-Charisma; love her, but I don't see her pull this role off. Sorry.
-SMG; love her, but she's not the type in about 20 different ways.
-Gina Torres; love her, and she's got the build and the regal look, but I don't see it make sense to have WW be a black woman unless her history is changed. Ancient Geeks and Ancient Africans were not the same people. But Joss can change that in the writing I suppose.
-Morena; now SHE has the looks. Mediterranean, beautiful, regal, etc. Only thing is that I don't know if she can be convincing as a fearesome Warrior. But Joss loves her and she'd also fit the 'relative unknown' bill.
(Btw Nick Seng, I assume you meant Hellblazer not Hellraiser)
I have no reason to assume that this will be another Elektra or Catwoman, since Joss is writing and both movies had the same basic problem with severely sucky scripts. (CW being far worse btw) I also don't think that Wonder Woman's lesser known status as a character will be a problem as much as there simply not being any previous succesful movies with female superheroes. Hell the only really succesful female ACTION hero I can think of is Sigourney Weaver's Ripley. (Trinity in the Matrix was technically not the lead)
In TV, female heroes have been everywhere (ever since Buffy and Xena) but in movies? The only recent examples we know were bombs. That would be my main worry here.
EdDantes | March 17, 21:18 CET
Secondly, speaking as a comic book fan myself, we don't need Wonder Woman comic book fans to make this movie a success. But think about X-Men. Was the movie a success because of the established fans? Not a chance. The fact it was based on a comic probably turned a lot of people off initially. But it was well-written, well-acted (with the exception of Ms. Berry), and got good reviews. That's why it was a hit. Almost everyone I know in RL has never read a comic book, but they have seen X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman and Batman movies. It doesn't matter one bit what the core fans want; it's too small a percentage of the potential audience. Couple good writing with good direction, throw in some great reviews, it will be a hit.
So, with that in mind, cast whoever is right for the part. I throw my support behind Gina, as well, despite my hesitation at Joss using any of his TV actors. I thought Gina was the best actress in the Jossverse, and she does that tough-yet-not-a-robot, sexy-in-control woman thing so well. Plus, she is just gorgeous.
Dizzy | March 17, 21:19 CET
I still think that Terry Farrell of DS9 would have made the best Wonder Woman 9 or 10 years ago. Now? Don't know but I hope they go the unknown route. Of the Whedon-universe women, Gina Torres in a heartbeat.
NOLA64 | March 17, 21:19 CET
I just got this CNN story:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/17/film.wonderwoman.reut/index.html
where they quote Joss:
Quote:
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"Wonder Woman is the most iconic female heroine of our time, but in a way, no one has met her yet," Whedon said in a statement. "What I love most about icons is finding out what's behind them, exploring the price of their power."
He added: "There is a woman behind the legend who is very fascinating, very uncompromising and in her own way almost vulnerable. She's someone who doesn't belong in this world, and since everyone I know feels that way about themselves, the character clicked for me."
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sounds to me like Joss is full of new ideas for 'Wonder Woman'
and I can't see any reason to doubt his success.
His 'Astonishing X-men' is beyond great!
embers | March 17, 21:23 CET
In TV, female heroes have been everywhere (ever since Buffy and Xena) but in movies? The only recent examples we know were bombs. That would be my main worry here.
I'd have to say that Uma Thurman's The Bride from Kill Bill is another "succesful female ACTION hero" and a recent one at that.
Paul_Rocks | March 17, 21:24 CET
God, I hope Joss makes this movie a comedy. I've been doing some snooping (Wonder Woman online research) and the whole comic sounds sooo profoundly uncool. Like, one baby step cooler than Captain America. If that.
Who do ya think's gonna play Captain Steve Trevor? (The luuuuurve interest.)
Bad Kitty | March 17, 21:24 CET
jewel | March 17, 21:29 CET
Joss gets the benefit of the doubt because I'm assuming that if he didn't think his vision would end up on the screen he'd've turned it down. But we'll see. Bottom line is if he's happy about it, I'm happy about it. We'll all just hope it's good and it's a hit so Joss will get more opportunities.
And boy, do I remember ISIS. Joanna Cameron was just drop dead beautiful! Always wondered what happened to her.
batmarlowe | March 17, 21:35 CET
True! Hey it's early and I was searching my brain but I couldn't think of anything. But you're right Paul Rocks, that's definitely a good recent example. Of course she wasn't a female *super*hero (well in many ways she was, but for mainstream audiences, superheroes have costumes) so we've yet to see that happen successfully but it could be that Joss is the one to do it. He was in large part responsible for it on TV, so who knows. Still, female heroes are generally rare on the big screen.
EdDantes | March 17, 21:37 CET
Paul_Rocks | March 17, 21:50 CET
Anyhow, it's nice to see that WB got Adam Hughes to draw it.
Simon | March 17, 21:50 CET
Well, I think Joss has proven that he has a way with turning seemingly ridiculous concepts into Something More. Plus, just throwing a self-aware joke or two in there (nothing, ya know, tacky) is sometimes enough to get the audience to accept something sort of uncool. On the other hand, it would be a nice throwback if it could be presented in the pure, un-ironic superhero style of the old days. You know...why does she have a Lasso of Truth? Because. She's a superhero.
On another note: I know that, ever since this project was rumored, TVGuide.com has been throwing Lauren Graham's name around as a suggestion. Thoughts?
[ edited by VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt on 2005-03-17 20:00 ]
[ edited by VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt on 2005-03-17 20:14 ]
VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt | March 17, 21:58 CET
The only thing I know about WW is when the TV show was on and I kept getting crank phone calls from two boys (10 year olds maybe?) who were convinced that I was Wonder Woman. I never disabused them of the misconception!
Lioness | March 17, 22:11 CET
BTW: My theory is that the negotiations have been more about preapproval of Joss's vision and level of control than anything else. It would not surprise me if he is pretty far along on the script already.
newcj | March 17, 22:12 CET
Something tells me the people involved with X3 weren't prepared to let him write AND direct that film. I'm guessing this was the sticking point. I'd be interested to find out for sure.
Hjermsted | March 17, 22:14 CET
¬¬ At least, he will pen the screenplay.
I know he will do a very good job, but i´m not sure that the people will support the film (not Whedon fans, of course).
Angel TheVampire | March 17, 22:29 CET
pelinxf | March 17, 22:32 CET
I'm not a huge Wonder Woman fan but I can't wait to see what Joss does with the character in much the same way I can't wait to see what Kevin Smith does with the Green Hornet.
The one shout-out I'd love is for Diana (Wonder Woman) to be in America and unable to sleep one night so she gets up and watches a Buffy repeat on television.
Selannia | March 17, 22:40 CET
Oh how I wish Joss had chosen X-Men 3 instead.
You're presuming he was asked to do X3.
PMMJ | March 17, 22:48 CET
Joss getting to direct and write a film? That's good! But Wonder Woman? Outdated, sexist, not the most popular of franchises, territory he's kind of already done, hard to make relevant in modern times. Sort of a difficult thing to make credible.
But Joss Whedon? Talented, gifted, he's rejuvinated the genre before, if anyone can do it he can, it's nice to see him taking on a challenge, and so on.
I really think this could be great, but also horribly awful.
Good luck to Joss. I can't wait to see it.
Gonnas | March 17, 22:53 CET
Madhatter | March 17, 22:56 CET
To my knowledge, he was never asked to do X-Men 3, so its not like he was offered the opportunity and turned it down. He wasn't given a choice.
killinj | March 17, 23:05 CET
And what exactly is wrong with Cap?!?!? The guy is a legend, in every sense of the word! Now if you had said Captain "Shazam" Marvel then i might have agreed! ;)
Technopagan | March 17, 23:07 CET
(BTW, her husband is Superman and her ex is Elvis. Make of that what you will.)
zz9 | March 17, 23:11 CET
Where did SMG get her start? Soaps.
What did Nathan Fillion get his start? Soaps.
New Superman Brandon Routh? Soaps.
A lot of hotties in the soap world and they are work horses. I look for Joss to go to the well again and pluck an unknown from the soaps.
IMMORTAL | March 17, 23:27 CET
In terms of numbers, maybe you don't. But even setting aside the massive impact positive or negative Internet buzz can have on a movie, what everyone seems to forget is that these people know and understand the source material--they get what makes it work, and what makes it worth making a movie out of in the first place. So you don't necessarily need that core audience. But if the core audience thinks an adaptation will be crap, I'll believe them sooner than I will most reviewers.
Niels | March 17, 23:27 CET
And this is a question for the mods, when script details start leaking out - and they will - will it be ok to post a a link to it?
eddy | March 17, 23:31 CET
Good question, depends on how detailed the script details, I guess. We shall see how it goes initially. Official movie details would be fine, test screening reports would be fine, a review of the script which don't reveal major spoilers would be probably be ok (i.e. the type of thing you see at AICN).
Posting a link to the entire script would be a no no.
And hmmm to the following.
So who is the most iconic male heroine of our time?
Simon | March 17, 23:39 CET
Though I suppose he's more of a villian.
[ edited by Caleb on 2005-03-17 21:55 ]
Caleb | March 17, 23:53 CET
I´m not really a Wonder Women fan but i think Joss might be able to me into one!
Kessie | March 18, 00:05 CET
SpikeBad | March 18, 00:06 CET
I think I know what you mean, Gonnas. Personally, I just can't conceive of a Joss-written and directed movie being horribly awful. I can, however, conceive of it doing less than overwhelming box-office. Personally that matters not at all to me except, of course, in that it presumably would affect JW's ability to do other stuff. But that is several steps of conjecture down the road. Right now, I'm just excited about how he will reinvigorate the character and legend.
And Telltale, I tend to agree with you about trusting the judgment of the core audience (if we can figure out what that judgment is). But I'd hope that said judgment was based upon the underlying *substance* of the character rather than whether the character was white or black, wore red, white, and blue versus gold, or other such stuff. Appearance clearly is part of a character, but it's not even close to the whole story. So, to take one example, I'm willing to listen to serious arguments about why Diana has to be caucasian, but "because she was white in the comic book" isn't one. IMHO.
SoddingNancyTribe | March 18, 00:08 CET
Ms Swank would be an awesome Wonder Woman.
miranda | March 18, 00:12 CET
Biff Turkle | March 18, 00:14 CET
I don't remember anyone ever suggesting that it would be okay to have Will Smith play the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man, or anyone suggest that Denzel Washington would be appropriate for the part of Reed Richards in the new Fantastic Four movie. The reason being that both Peter and Reed are, and always have been, white characters. The same applies for Wonder Woman.
I think it is fair to say that the one group of people who have really been waiting for this movie to happen are the readers of the comic series. Sure, other people who are less invested in the source material will go watch it but they aren't the ones who will really be looking forward to seeing it. In my mind the comic fans that have awaited this movie happening for a very long time will be devastated if, when it finally happens, the character is not recognisable to them.
I've been lucky so far as the movies that have been based on my favourite heroes have all been fairly accurate and, within certain realistic restraints, told stories that were true to the source material. However if the makers of the movies had had so little respect for the comics that they started tinkering with fundamental details like skin colour that would have ruined it for me. I don't want to see a black Wolverine any more than i want a white Storm.
Basically, if a movie about Wonder Woman is going to be made then it should be as true to the comic as is possible. Otherwise you may as well not bother using the name Wonder Woman at all.
Technopagan | March 18, 00:41 CET
I'm trying to think who might be good for the role, but can't come up with anyone perfect. There must be some unknown out there who would be great, though. I mean, who knew Lucy Lawless before Xena? Aside from the Aussies, that is. Anyone know if Joss has say-so on the actress? His instincts about such things, historically, have been pretty right on. Just please, no more Jessica Alba.
Willowy | March 18, 00:42 CET
But I still say fandom has little to do with success. A good comic movie usually respects the source material. A bad one, well, that's CATWOMAN. I know in fandom, it seems like we are talking so loud, everyone must notice us. But really, we're just talking loudly to ourselves. :)
Dizzy | March 18, 00:55 CET
I'll agree to that. So long as I can see Tony Head playing him...mmmm....FrankenGiles....um...nevermind me.
Rogue Slayer | March 18, 01:19 CET
While I like Lauren Graham on Gilmore Girls, I'm not sure she's statuesque enough for the role. You need somebody who is ridiculously gorgeous yet physically imposing enough to be convincing as an asskicker. Personally, I'd love to see Gina Torres in the role, as unlikely as that may be. She's gorgeous, a good actress with range, and she projects an aura of strength and confidence. Besides, she could totally kick the derrieres of most of these Hollywood stick figure actresses.
punkinpuss | March 18, 01:30 CET
I don't know how many people here are also fans of the Highlander television series but there was a character on there called Amanda played by Elizabeth Gracen. I think she could pull off the role quite well and also has most of the physical attributes needed as well.
I also should mention that she was a major crush of mine during my teen years so i'm a little biased here. Any reason to see more of the lovely Miss Gracen is good enough for me! :)
Technopagan | March 18, 01:42 CET
Also, WW is an amazon and SMG was great for Buffy because she was so non-amazon. Get yerself a large woman Mr. Whedon.
Man she has the cheesiest costume ever. How do you work with that?
smog | March 18, 01:43 CET
I think Rena Sofer (I think that's her name) has the right face for the role. Now, whether or not she can lose that Brooklyn accent is another story. Plus she's in her mid 30's so I don't know if that would be too old.
I agree that Lauren Graham is totally wrong for the part and also too old too.
I'm guessing the role will go to a relatively unknown actress and maybe supporting roles will go to actors and actresses with bigger names.
Firefly Flanatic | March 18, 01:48 CET
newcj | March 18, 01:53 CET
batmarlowe | March 18, 01:54 CET
She would look a little sillier (if possible) in the costume though.
Lioness | March 18, 01:57 CET
Simon | March 18, 01:59 CET
looking | March 18, 02:04 CET
And before anyone says its too soon to talk about sequels, I think WB has signed their other superhero franchise players to 3 picture deals.(Christian Bale and Brandon Routh)
eddy | March 18, 02:16 CET
Okay aside from the fabulous typo here (I'm not mocking you, it actually makes me very happy) -
If people were going to get all picky, there are stories of multiple colonies of Amazons. Some were in Turkey; others in Libya. Neither in Greece proper or on the Peloponnesus. It is believable that women with dark skin would be living in Turkey OR Libya at this time; plausibility is not a problem here. It is more an issue of taste/familiarity than anything else.
Gina Torres looks like A Wonder Woman. She is, in my mind, the very definition of Amazon. She may not look like The Wonder Woman, but anyone saying "Well that's not realistic!" needs to acknowledge two things -
1. In the ancient Mediterranean, there was a large mix of races, in all parts of it, especially what is now Turkey and Northern Africa.
2. An Invisible Jet? Plausibility aside from that of emotion and story seems unnecessary, when you have an invisible jet and a golden lasso of truth. IJS.
Kiba | March 18, 02:21 CET
eddy | March 18, 02:24 CET
I honestly would have no problem with the idea of Will Smith playing Peter Parker or Denzel Washington playing Reed Richards - so long as the writer/director was honest to the character's insides, rather than outsides, if that makes sense. That said, I think with Pete or Reed it would make more of a difference, because contemporary questions of race would necessarily intrude into a scene set in modern-day NYC and probably subvert the story. But in the case of a quasi-mythic figure, a Queen of the Amazons? That's sufficiently ahistoric as to not be affected by skin color. (Or costume, or whatever. I was talking about skin color because that was the one that kept cropping up with Gina Torres). I just don't see it as a matter of respect for the source material at all. And I just saw Kiba's post that shows there is *historical* support for the idea.
Just to make it clear, I'm not saying Joss *should* deliberately change some of the background facts. I'm just saying he could, and he could do it in a way that is (a) "true" to the character, and (b) actually enriches the movie.
SoddingNancyTribe | March 18, 02:28 CET
cj: my theory is that Joss got the gig with a completed script, he is probably already moving into preproduction now, as we speak. They'll be filming this Summer. He'll be done filming 'Wonder Woman' by the time 'Serenity' hits the theaters.
And (according to my fantasy) Joss will have a huge block buster with 'Wonder Woman': an exciting character driven plot with lots of action and humor, fun for the whole family (with millions of small children wanting to see it over and over again). It will be released Summer 2006 after Joss has already started filming 'Serenity II'.
embers | March 18, 02:38 CET
eddy | March 18, 02:39 CET
And then to add one more thing, I think Storm's race is an essential part of her character. Her mother was a Kenyan princess. She was accepted as a goddess in Africa.
Wonder Woman has to be an Amazon. As I pointed out earlier, Amazons could very well have skin of just about any shade. (Though it would not be likely that they would have skin like people from East Asia or like Native Americans.)
Kiba | March 18, 02:40 CET
As for the Ancient Greeks being white, so what? That was over 2000 years ago! Why couldn't the Amazons have a little inter-breeding along with the rest of the world? It's not like the Greeks weren't exposed to Africans back then anyway - after all, Cleopatra was Greek.
rkayn | March 18, 02:45 CET
Kiba | March 18, 02:47 CET
newcj | March 18, 02:50 CET
Even though the artists always tend to draw her less ethnic looking..does that bother anyone else?
Anyhow, back to WW. Heres a casting suggestion from me, how about Claudia Black(Farscape).
click here for picture
click here for another picture
eddy | March 18, 02:50 CET
Kiba | March 18, 02:53 CET
Also, i would agree that there is no reason that Wonder Woman couldn't have been of colour. As has been pointed out there are plenty of references in other works of fiction to Amazons of various skin colours. In fact i seem to remember that the Amazons featured in Xena had an extremely multi-cultural look (although that was Xena, mythological and historical accuracy was never a priority, hehe). However, whilst i am more than happy to accept that Wonder Woman could have been black, the fact is that she wasn't. The character that is the centre of this upcoming movie, the specific character that DC believe is actually popular enough to merit a movie of her own, is in fact white.
I realise that, if you boil it down to the basic arguement, all i'm saying is "the comic says she is white, therefore make her white", but considering that there is absolutely no reason not to do so i really cannot think of a legitimate reason to make that alteration. Just to make this movie a vehicle for Gina Torres, no matter how great an actress i think she is, is far from a good reason to change Wonder Woman's skin colour, and that is the only reason i have read in this thread supporting the idea so far. If somebody can give me a real, plot driven reason why making the very extreme change to the character would be a good idea, then i might reconsider.
Eddy, Claudia Black is a fantastic idea, she would be perfect.
Technopagan | March 18, 02:58 CET
It makes a bit of sense if you think about it, since Joss is known for creating a female super hero with style from scratch, I'm not surprised he was asked to do this project. Only this time around he'll be resurrecting a female superhero (oh wait, he's done that a time or two as well!) that hasn't been quite so mainstream for awhile.
I don't care who they get to play her, I think he'll make it work.
Go Joss!
[ edited by Grace on 2005-03-18 01:04 ]
Grace | March 18, 03:02 CET
It would be greatly appreciated by myself and I'm sure other posters here as well, if my fellow comic book fans could recommend some Wonder Woman trades to check out. The last proper Wonder Woman comic I read was back in 1987 so if some people could suggest a few titles in this thread, I will pop down to my local comic book store at the weekend and buy a couple.
Simon | March 18, 03:05 CET
Angela | March 18, 03:11 CET
ShotgunWes | March 18, 03:18 CET
Madhatter | March 18, 03:35 CET
Honestly, the best self-contained WW story that i've read was Alex Ross' oversized one-shot Spirit of Truth.
thekey1313 | March 18, 03:50 CET
I'll add my opinion to those who aren't bothered one way or another what color skin Joss's WW has. I don't give a hang as long as the actress is fantastic.
I am increasingly excited by this WW news. This is *big.* Kudos to Joss! And while Joel Silver isn't my favorite producer by a long shot, he did produce the Matrix movies. Joss is on record as saying that his favorite movie is the first Matrix. (At least it was a few years ago.) I imagine it'll be fun for Joss to work with someone who had a major hand in his favorite movie.
phlebotinin | March 18, 03:50 CET
Caroline | March 18, 03:51 CET
zz9 | March 18, 03:54 CET
norman | March 18, 04:08 CET
Of late?.... Hmmmm....
Batman?
:-)
bookrats | March 18, 04:14 CET
He's also producing Veronica Mars, and standing solidly behind Rob Thomas, the creator.
That, more than anything else, gets him points from me.
bookrats | March 18, 04:18 CET
DK | March 18, 04:31 CET
But..but...she's Mary Camden! If she became Joss's Wonder Woman, it would totally conflict with my Camden hatred. It just...runs so deep. Plus, to see Mary Camden deliver actual good writing would be totally jarring.
VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt | March 18, 05:07 CET
Denzel playing Reed Richards would change the character on a fundamental level.
Willowy | March 18, 05:11 CET
Wonder Woman is going to be an incredibly challenging project, a momentous undertaking by all accounts. I still think that he can pull it off, but I still remain open to the chance he might not. A film tends to be a collaborative project for one thing, and there will be other hands in the soup even if he does have creative control. And just making this thing work will be incredibly difficult, since, well, an Amazonian tribe of super-women or whatever? Right off the bat that's a tough thing to make credible. Do you make her reluctant? Then it's just Buffy. Do you make her desperate to do well but pushed down by a society that looks down on women? That could be good - a little Whale Rider maybe - but that doesn't exactly fit with the Amazonian Wonder Women thing. And the costume? Worse than yellow spandex. And the whip? Yeesh, didn't exactly work out for Catwoman, and it's very camp. And the colour of her skin? Setting aside potential racism, I believe they should stay true to the comic book in that respect, but I wouldn't mind it. The character is fairly iconic, and already exists in peoples heads with a certain look. To change that now would seem pointless and detrimental, much in the same way I disagree with suddenly changing Bond's skin colour after so many films - though that's a more extreme and unlikely case.
Either way, I'll be there with bells on.
Gonnas | March 18, 05:12 CET
But the worst addition was the comedy sidekick called Chas. Jesus christ, he's meant to be a depressed loner, and he has a comedy sidekick?
Pah.
I'm going to write a Buffy movie, set it in London, and make the character a Liverpudlian brunette. Giles can be the American.
Gonnas | March 18, 05:16 CET
Oh YES PLEEEEAAASE!!!!
I remembar a few months ago when Joss posted a very cheeky "No Comment" in regards to WW. My guess is he was already working on the script then, and was busily writing away and on taking a few breathers, cruised this board.
And so, with script in hand, he approaches the studios and slaps down his 300 page epic saying "No Cuts!" and "Gimme 300 million to direct, with complette control!"
And of course the studio is falling all over themselves trying to accomodate him.
And a girl can dream can't they!
nixygirl | March 18, 05:20 CET
(P.S. 6 days to a new mini-whedonesquer mini-mort!)
Mort | March 18, 06:07 CET
TheZeppo | March 18, 06:28 CET
batmarlowe | March 18, 07:10 CET
I love, love, love the idea of Claudia Black but can she pull off an American accent? Or does Wonder Woman not need to have an American accent?
Firefly Flanatic | March 18, 07:38 CET
Madhatter | March 18, 07:47 CET
Madhatter | March 18, 07:52 CET
Firefly Flanatic | March 18, 07:59 CET
This is wonderful news. Wiseblood, you said it, "chicks need a superhero". I for one know Joss will not let us down. I just ask, when it comes to casting....try for someone up and coming. No stars, please. I am not familiar with Claudia Black, but she does have that Diana feel. I couldn't stomach Uma. Something about her bugs.
I would love to learn more about Wonder Woman's past. Can anybody tell me some basics other than the rope, the plane, the boobs?
You so know Joss has had this thing written for at least a month. Filming should be done in time to start on a 'verse series to be aired in spring 06. It can totally happen. I will never fade away.
Harmalicious | March 18, 08:18 CET
(pictured in the poster Simon linked at the top of the page...right next to the boobs).
I think she has some other kind of twirling power,
but actually I was never a Lynda Carter fan so I never watched a whole episode of the original show....
embers | March 18, 08:39 CET
It should be an interesting take on "exploring the price of [an icon's] power."
"He is currently completing post-production on the feature film Serenity, which he wrote and directed based on his television series Firefly."
As a Firefly fan, I can't help but hope Wonder Woman fans will want to check out "their" director's work in the form of Serenity to see what they might be in for.
Ying | March 18, 08:42 CET
Harmalicious | March 18, 08:46 CET
creepy6 | March 18, 09:03 CET
And mind you, I have no problem with Gina Torres if Joss chooses to rewrite Wonder Woman's roots and origin. I think she's great and is definitely 'Amazonian'. I've seen her act as a Goddess and a soldier and she can do both to a tee. But she won't really be the Wonder Woman of the comics for me. No more than Keanu was the 'real' Constantine. They're reinventions of those characters. Which can be great too (I thought "Constantine" was an okay movie) but it will be different characters.
I think it's a little too simplistic to say skin color, gender or race are only 'skin deep'. They're not. A black Peter Parker or a white Storm will be very different people. A black kid growing up in NY will have had a different life and a different look on life and a different sense of identity on many levels than a white kid. And a white woman, even if she lived in Africa, can per definition not be the same person as the black african Ororo Munroe. Our place in cultures and how we're seen and treated and what our 'roots' are have a lot of effect on our personalities.
I'm not saying it's always bad to change these things in a character, but it *will* always change him or her. Often to an extent that it's not really that character anymore to me. How much I mind that is a whole different Oprah, but....
Still as I said, if Joss writes Diana's past differently, I'm fine with Gina or someone like her. She's going to be a godly being in a mortal world anyway, which is the main point here and in this case, black or white won't change much for the character in that sense. But her past will be different.
Oh and what's this 'invisible plane' stuff?? She used to have an invisible plane? The WW I know can fly like Superman. Which I think will be a better idea for the movie.
Btw, never saw that old WW TV show and never wanted to. Looked like the equivalent of the Adam West Batman show so I'll pass, thanks. I do think Wonder Woman 'twirled' there to change costume right? Oy, cheeze alert....
Oh and cool teaser poster. But then Adam Hughes knows what he's doing when it comes to drawing Wonder Woman.
EdDantes | March 18, 09:04 CET
Madhatter | March 18, 09:08 CET
Actually I would like to see both Lynda Carter and Lucy Lawless in the movie as well, either as supporting characters or cameo roles.
If anyone wants to see the ongoing saga of WW fans who have been waiting for a feature film of the Amazon check out Ultimate Wonder.
I am also surprised that no one has thrown out Eliza's name as a potential WW.
[ edited by RavenU on 2005-03-18 07:54 ]
RavenU | March 18, 09:51 CET
She'd be PERFECT. (But I hope they skip the "flying" ability for the movie.)
TaraLivesOn | March 18, 10:27 CET
Simon | March 18, 11:15 CET
Courtney Love.
She's tall, she's older (I refrain from calling her "mature"), she's scary, she's practically a force of nature without the WW outfit.
And, yknow, when she's not completely out of her mind, she's actually a really great actress. And she could use a bit of a career boost, poor thing. Plus it'd be funny. Turn the whole "all American" hero(ine) stereotype on its head. Wonder Woman, from what I have read, is like the anti-Tank Girl. Courtney would be a perfectly perverse casting choice. It's the sort of weird hilarious decision I would thoroughly appreciate.
Of course this will NEVER happen. ;D
Bad Kitty | March 18, 13:21 CET
Not to mention that she could also do the movie soundtrack. two birds, one stone! ;)
Technopagan | March 18, 13:48 CET
(only kidding)
miranda | March 18, 13:51 CET
(only kidding)
Would you believe that there's serious talk of a Superman and Batman movie if their respective revitalised franchises do well. And there's bound to be some movie exec somewhere thinking "Hmmmm. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman together on screen? Let me see if Uwe Boll or Paul Anderson are available ".
Simon | March 18, 14:04 CET
RavenU | March 18, 14:18 CET
I wonder if they will actually tie the continuities of the two current movie projects together if they do go ahead with a movie featuring the two characters. If that is the case and Wonder Woman does equally well as a movie you never know what they will decide to do next.
RavenU, i'm not really a big Smallville fan so i could be wrong here but didn't they already have a character on the show that fans are speculating was Bruce Wayne, but under a different name. I think it was last season this was supposed to have occured.
Technopagan | March 18, 14:47 CET
Spikecam21 | March 18, 15:27 CET
I would never presume to say that you were wrong on this. I do think that changing a character's race will have a different effect, one of different magnitude, depending on where that character is from in both time and place. I think a change to Storm of Peter Parker would be more drastic, looking at the story within itself rather than at fans' potential reactions, than a change to Wonder Woman. Wondar Woman is Queen Hippolyta's daughter, and changing Hippolyta's race would affect almost nothing at all about her (see: my above lecture on race and the Mediterranean in the ancient world). Wonder Woman was "formed from the clay of Paradise Island by her mother" (The Wonder Woman fanlisting). How much white or even Caucasian-flesh-tone clay have you seen?
I don't doubt that it would change the character. What I doubt is that anyone could make a strong argument that it would be "wrong" or "impossible" according to the part of her origin story that says she is an Amazon in the Mediterranean world. In my mind, those are two very different things.
Kiba | March 18, 15:59 CET
My only argument, right from the start of this, is if you don't need to change an aspect of the character and you can get an actress as close in look to the comic version as possible, then why make the change? Again, the only reason this topic came up was because certain people here would like to see Gina Torres in the role. To me that just doesn't cut it as a reasonable excuse to alter Diana's skin colour from the one she has always had to another. You don't recreate a character just to suit an actress, it isn't fair to the long time fans. Not when there are more physically accurate, alternative actresses who could play the part.
So this isn't about whether or not you could do it as far as i'm concerned, of course you could, it's whether you actually should.
Technopagan | March 18, 16:18 CET
It has been stated that many of the previously mentioned actresses are "too old", I hate thinking that 30 something is too old! For the look of WW I think a 30 year old woman is the right age. It's not called Wonder Girl, most women's bodies don't have the muscle tone and look at 20 that they get at 30. If someone is athletic and keeps working out at 30 I think women look their best. Just a thought.
I love Claudia Black as a suggestion, I never saw Farscape but she was in Pitch Black and she definitely is tall and has the body of a warrior.
Passion | March 18, 17:19 CET
But I've the feeling WB will want some young sexpot.
Madhatter | March 18, 18:28 CET
Harmalicious | March 18, 19:17 CET
As much as I love JW, I do not think I could go and see this movie if Courtney Love was cast in it!
Ever since someone has mentioned Claudia Black, I can't get that idea out of my head. She'd be perfect for the role and she is an amazing actress!
Firefly Flanatic | March 18, 19:28 CET
Paul_Rocks | March 18, 19:33 CET
[ edited by zeitgeist on 2005-03-18 17:45 ]
zeitgeist | March 18, 19:44 CET
Madhatter | March 18, 19:57 CET
I am possibly a crazy person who sees arguments where there are none. I did want to address this question though - naturally I wouldn't want Joss to say "I like Gina Torres, so let's re-invent Wonder Woman!" It is my opinion that when a character's essential nature is affected not at all or very little by his or her race, as is the case for Wonder Woman, then the best person to play the part is the person who plays the part best - completely independent of looks. This probably comes from my frustrations as an actress - a million times I wasn't cast in things I could have played quite well, because of not the age I actually was, but the age I looked. (Almost always too young.) I think Gina Torres could play Wonder Woman beautifully. I understand your point about not changing the character just for an actress, and I don't quite mean that Joss should do that.
If he finds some other actress who can be as true to the inner life of the character as I believe (or he believes, rather, if he does) Gina Torres could, and that actress looks more like the traditional vision of Wonder Woman, by all means, he should cast that person. But casting should not (never mind whether or not it is) be all about looks, and I think if one woman looks the part but doesn't have the acting chops for it and one woman might require a new look but could play the part with great force, one ought to choose the latter.
I don't want Gina Torres because she's pretty or because she's my friend or because of any of the other reasons a person might want someone cast. Other than Claudia Black (whom I now kind of prefer over Gina Torres because as you said, if you don't need to change the look, why do so?) I can think of no one who could play Wonder Woman like I think Gina Torres could.
Were I a casting director, taking into account all the things they must, I certainly wouldn't cast someone who looked so markedly different from the original ideal, if I could help it (and I probably could). I am speaking, though, from the point of view of a person who sees the inner life of characters as of the highest priority. That is why I prefer Gina Torres, and why I have been so insistent in my defense of her as a possibility. (That, and I like to show off the stuff my Classics degree got me - ie, the ability to explain why Mediterraneans aren't all olive-skinned and black-haired, among other things.)
Kiba | March 19, 03:03 CET
Arabchick | March 19, 07:42 CET
Who knows, maybe Joss will read these threads and decide that Gina should get a shot based on her talent, or maybe he will agree with those of us who think it is a little more important to get the classic look of the character as close as possible. Either way, it's out of our hands.
Technopagan | March 19, 15:33 CET
B: SoddingNancyTribe- you're a goddess. Everything you say is dead on. The details of the character aren't as important as the essence of her. Technically, an amazon queen would be south-american aboriginal.
C: Casting-wise, I really really hope it's an unknown. I know that might hurt the box-office, but Joss shouldn't limit himself in any way. Also, contending with some well-known actress might cause on-set difficulties. Grabbing actresses from his stable (Erm... not how I meant it to sound) makes sense, but might be distracting and/or limiting.
D: I'm still disappointed it isn't X3. *pout* But I'm glad that it's not Buffyverse. I think that has for the most part played itself out. Except the comics. Oh, but Joss can prove me wrong whenever he likes. I can never get enough Willow, Giles and Spike.
pixxelpuss | March 20, 01:01 CET
SoddingNancyTribe | March 20, 08:03 CET