Despite her rich history on the page of DC Comics, Wonder Woman doesn’t have a deep well from which to draw inspiration when it comes to people who have played her on screen. In fact, Lynda Carter still stands as the de facto representation of the warrior princess, even though it has been roughly 35 years since the actress last portrayed Wonder Woman in any function of note. Still, it’s to Carter we turn when we wonder how Wonder Woman should be portrayed on screen in the developing DC universe, and the actress has some great thoughts.
Lynda Carter spoke with Vulture at the recent God’s Love We Deliver event, and asked her what she’d like to see in the character of Wonder Woman as the world prepares to meet Princess Diana of Themyscira (as played by Gal Gadot in the Zack Snyder universe). Carter admitted that Wonder Woman was "complicated," and that she was "about a lot more than just superhero stuff." So what does she think the new Wonder Woman needs to succeed?
Ultimately, she’s about truth, and it’s all heart with her. She’s a strong female force. … She’s strong, but she’s so much more — not everybody gets that ... Most important, I want her to have a heart and a strong sense of humor."
Uh oh. Apparently Lynda Carter didn’t get the memo that there’s a rumored "No Joke" policy over at Warner Bros. as the studio works on building its DC universe. That can’t be 100% accurate, though. It’s possible that DC wants to mirror the grave, serious tone of the Christopher Nolan Batman films as it develops its cinematic properties. And that Marvel’s jokey tone – evident in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy -- is triggering DC to go in an opposite direction to potentially appeal to a different fan base.
But the Wonder Woman film hasn’t even hired a director yet as it works toward its recently announced 2017 release date. The "tone" of that solo project likely isn’t set in stone, and will change once the voice of a filmmaker and screenwriter (or screenwriting team) is attached.
As for why it has taken the film industry so long to figure out how to bring Wonder Woman back to the big screen (despite numerous Batman and Superman movies over the years), Lynda Carter has her own thoughts, saying, "I think females baffle men, and so, that’s made it difficult to get a Wonder Woman movie made."
Well, they sort have claim to have figured her out, which is why Gal Gadot will be in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, and her own Wonder Woman movie the following year. Let’s just hope she works as a character in this developing universe, because the sky could be the limit for this timeless character.
