Whedonesque : Comments on 6690 : Frivolous look at possible Wonder Woman candidates.

well what do you expect? it's called babes.ign.com.

The latest Wizard magazine did a similar article, though they did list SMG, even though she rated low since she's not very AMAZONIAN.

PLEASE JOSS - and I know you're smarter than these silly articles...Rather you choose some unknown with the RIGHT assets than some marketable honey that has BIG assets... :)

Grace | May 10, 21:00 CET

My vote is for the last one.

BlindHawkeyes | May 10, 21:02 CET

Jessica Simpson??? Oh, dear god in heaven!

electricspacegirl | May 10, 21:19 CET

No where in there whole article was any mention of acting chops.
Figures.

NickSeng | May 10, 21:19 CET

No, no, 10x no. The only person I want from that article is Lynda Carter. She can play Hippolyta. None of these actresses have the chops to play Joss' WW. Casting them would turn the movie into soft core action porn. If I wanted that, I'd rent Charlie's Angels.

cjl | May 10, 21:34 CET

Well it may be laddishly tongue in cheek but it enforces my opinion that the lead should go to a relative unknown. Maybe a British actress? Hmmmmm.

Simon | May 10, 21:39 CET

I'd say Taylor Cole, who is, for the most part, an unknown.

Emma Frost | May 10, 21:47 CET

None of these actresses have the chops to play Joss' WW. Casting them would turn the movie into soft core action porn

I would agree with that for most of them but I certainly don't think Jennifer Connelly, Evangeline Lilly or Jennifer Garner fit into that category. Not that I'm saying I want any of them as WW mind. Just that I think they definitely have the acting chops to be in something written by Joss.

Paul_Rocks | May 10, 21:58 CET

I'm with Simon,time to find a relative unknown.

zeitgeist | May 10, 22:12 CET

A tall relative unknown. :}

PMMJ | May 10, 22:16 CET

Given :)

zeitgeist | May 10, 22:20 CET

There's an actress here in Chicago named Elizabeth Laidlaw who looks an a bit like Lucy Lawless about fifteen years ago.

She was cast as Xena in a production called "Xena Live - the Musical" because of her Amazonian looks, in fact.

Her photo is here for anyone who'd like to see.

And she's got one helluva resume besides:
Elizabeth Laidlaw
and
Elizabeth Laidlaw

I wish there was a way for Joss to see this woman - I honestly think she'd be *perfect* as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman.

[ edited by ShelaghC on 2005-05-10 21:56 ]

ShelaghC | May 10, 22:33 CET

I would agree with that for most of them but I certainly don't think Jennifer Connelly, Evangeline Lilly or Jennifer Garner fit into that category. Not that I'm saying I want any of them as WW mind. Just that I think they definitely have the acting chops to be in something written by Joss.
Paul_Rocks | May 10, 19:58 CET

If it weren't for her (lack of) height, age and her previous "Lara Craft" experience, I'd almost go along with Angelina Jolie.

But Evangeline Lilly? "Lost" is her first acting experience and it's almost painful how much it shows.

Connolly and Garner just seem too.... slight to me for WW - plus how tall are they?

Sadly I don't think the movie-going world would accept Gina Torres in the part. But I *do* think it would be fantastic for her to be one of the Amazons on Paradise Island.

ShelaghC | May 10, 22:38 CET

I agree, PMMJ. A tall relative unknown with some meat on her bones. After all, the Amazon Princess should be, well, an amazon. I'm thinking Joss will surprise us all with his choice.

Madhatter | May 10, 22:46 CET

I just wonder how much latitude Joss is going to have with casting. Look at what happened with Superman casting. They went through several directors while auditioning the likes of Paul Walker and Brendan Fraser. Directors wanted an unknown, Warner Bros wanted a well-known actor. They ended up with an unknown with little experience that could end up to ruin the franchise, but that was more likely because no well-known actor wanted to be typecast or locked into a 10 year contract.

If superhero flicks like Batman Begins or Fantastic Four bomb this summer, I wonder how much the studios will blame the lack of a big name star. And if Superman tanks, I could see Warner Bros wanting to cast some A-lister as WW as a guarentee of success. Halle Berry as Catwoman certainly didn’t do well, but studios tend to want some name behind a film when they're spending $100M+ on it.

Casting seemed to be the major hold-up with Superman. I hate to see those types of problems plaguing WW.

FaithFan | May 10, 23:09 CET

(deleted)

[ edited by ShelaghC on 2005-05-10 21:57 ]

ShelaghC | May 10, 23:10 CET

Evangeline Lilly's acting chops/experience aside, she's very short. Totally wrong physically, IMO. None of these women seem right to me.

Joss, please give us a tall, meat-on-bones, acting-dynamo unknown!

phlebotinin | May 10, 23:10 CET

And please give me $1,000,000!

ringworm | May 10, 23:12 CET

Can we ease it on the actress pimping, please? By all means, say who you'd like to see in the part, but the 'hey Joss, read THIS'- vibe has got to end.

Caroline | May 10, 23:19 CET

If Joss has any input into the selection, I have full expectation it will be good. This is a man who made sure that Fray wasn't full of busty women falling out of their barely-there clothes. He's the one who wanted Jewel Staite to put on some weight to play Kaylee. He'll pick a beautiful woman who can act. If he is allowed to choose.

Lioness | May 10, 23:51 CET

Can we ease it on the actress pimping, please? By all means, say who you'd like to see in the part, but the 'hey Joss, read THIS'- vibe has got to end.

Caroline | May 10, 21:19 CET

Lo siento.
First time doing that ever - honest!

ShelaghC | May 10, 23:55 CET

It definately has to be Jennifer connelly. She is such a thing of beauty. Just check out her picture HERE.

SpikeBad | May 11, 00:01 CET

Am I the only one out there who's become a little fed up with all of these choices? It seems that every week there's a new top 10 list out there with the same people, but in different order. Rachel Weisz was new to me, but again, too short, and I don't think lifts could save that... Lets hope all of these lists (Jessica Simpson??? Lindsay Lohan???? Dear lord, the earth is doomed!) will not sway Joss's mind.

Guestage Drew | May 11, 00:02 CET

With Wonder Woman, most of the internet buzz will be images of who ever is cast in her WW outfit with fanboys on AICN and other message boards discussing her "assets". With superhero icons like Superman and Wonder Woman, it's all about the costumes and how much the actor looks like past incarnations.

Whedon fans care far more about character and acting talent than then Wonder Woman's chest size. However, there are the babes.ign.com sites who are going to be obsessing over any pictures released of the new WW.

Do Warner Bros execs think more people (especially young guys) go see WW if Joss casts a good, unknown actress or if it's starring Lindsay Lohan and the teaser poster looks like the cover of Maxim? Unfortunately I tend to be rather cynical about the answer to that question.

[ edited by FaithFan on 2005-05-10 22:09 ]

FaithFan | May 11, 00:06 CET

But Jennifer Connolly's only 5'7½". Way too short to be an amazon.

ShelaghC | May 11, 00:08 CET

I have every bit of confidence Joss smiles a little smile when he hears names like Lindsey Lohan and Jessica Simpson. Hell, why not add Paris Hilton to the list? She hangs out with them and gets tv and movie parts.

But visually speaking, Rose McGowan is an interesting suggestion. And hey, I loved her compared to Pru on Charmed. Not that I watch it often. Her voice isn't Wonder Womany. Too bad. She was a kinda cool bad girl in that movie where she killed her grandmother. Slight acting range there. Slight.

The only reason I like these lists is because there are often one or two interesting suggestions and the rest are just so silly I giggle. And it takes away some of my grief over not scoring Atlanta tickets. The Serenity opening and WW are both so far off they seem equidistant to me, if that's a word.

April | May 11, 00:52 CET

I hope and pray that Wonder Woman won't be played by a actress who has already portrayed a superhero in a theatrically released movie. Anybody else feel the same? Like Angelina Jolie = Tomb Raider, Jessica Biel = Blade's Sidekick, Jennifer Garner = Elektra, etc. etc. I rather have someone new to the game then a face that's already associated with another comic/video-game icon.

Plecky | May 11, 01:10 CET

ShelaghC, 5'7½" is a pretty damn good height for any woman. SMG is only 5'3" after all.

SpikeBad | May 11, 01:14 CET

Well, so far, we've agreed that: (A) We've grown a bit tired of these articles that continue to focus on the most popular pretty faces in Hollywood that don't fit the role. (B) Wonder Woman should be protrayed by an actress who has a strong Amazon profile along with remarkable acting chops. (C) Someone needs to forcefeed those popular pretty faces a sandwich. (D) Isn't all this speculation a bit early?

Madhatter | May 11, 02:05 CET

Plecky, you are spot on. And I'm sure you are right, too. Joss wanted to create a cultural icon with Buffy, and he succeeded. I imagine he will re-invent this story with the total same attitude. He's so ardent about not compromising quality for the sake of the masses, and at this point, most especially with the already-successful Serenity, I strongly believe he has the clout to do so. He said he made Serenity for the fans, and I imagine he will approach WW with the notion he will be writing this for his fans, WW fans, superhero fans and the like. Not fans of Jessica, Lindsey, or Angelina.

April | May 11, 02:11 CET

ShelaghC, 5'7½" is a pretty damn good height for any woman. SMG is only 5'3" after all.

SpikeBad | May 10, 23:14 CET

SMG is on the short side for a woman. 5'7½" is considered around average. 5'10" would be considered tall for a woman.

While it's a "stereotype," so to speak, generally most people think of above average height or extremely tall as the norm for an Amazon.

ShelaghC | May 11, 02:38 CET

I envision Wonder Woman having long muscular legs(hint, look at Charisma's) but since she won't be wearing the panties maybe it won't be such a necessity.

[ edited by eddy on 2005-05-11 02:11 ]

eddy | May 11, 04:10 CET

5'71/2" is quite tall for a woman - 5'4" is more like the average (or at least the median, but they should be very close in a population with a normal distribution)- at least according to these stats. Someone who is 5'71/2" would be in about the 95th percentile - i.e. in the tallest 5% of the female population.

catalyst2 | May 11, 04:59 CET

And yet, I'm still pulling for it to be Morena... :)

Ilana | May 11, 06:07 CET

Yup, 5'4 is about the average height of most women. I'm pretty tall myself, about 5'10" and I always had to look down at all my friends.

I'd also like to see someone unknown get the part. I've mentioned Claudia Black in the past but I do think she's too old. Joss has found some great actors for his shows that I'd love to see him find another gem for us to fall in love with!

Firefly Flanatic | May 11, 09:22 CET

May 10 2005