The critical reaction to Wonder Woman suggests that star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins have done quite a bit to do the legendary comic-book character justice. But while they're currently basking in this success, they still haven't quite eclipsed Lynda Carter's iconic status as the character just yet, as she played Wonder Woman for quite a long time. (Actually over 59 episodes and a TV Movie between 1975 and 1979.) Wonder Woman's previous success was something that Patty Jenkins looked to tap into herself, as Lynda Carter has now admitted that she spoke to the director about the character on several occasions over a few months. When asked how involved she was in the first big-screen adaptation of Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter recalled,
Over a period of quite a few months, we talked on the phone. It really was [about] why I thought my portrayal worked, why it lived, what my intentions were from the beginning about the character. We were so much on the same page of the interpretation of what embodies this character. [Wonder Woman is] not thinking she's all that. She's powerful, but [sensitive].
While Lynda Carter said she was able to have several in depth discussions about Wonder Woman with Patty Jenkins over the course of its production, she sadly admitted to EW that she wasn't able to have the same kind of back and forth with Gal Gadot. They did spend some time together at the United Nations back in October, when the superhero was named as an honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls, but other than that their discussions during the shoot were minimal. Clearly there is still nothing but love between Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot, though, as the duo met up at the Wonder Woman premiere last week and shared plenty of hugs and posed for numerous photographs, too.
Even though it has now been almost forty years since Lynda Carter last played Wonder Woman she has still been very protective regarding the treatment of the character, especially when it came to the big-screen adaptation. Lynda Carter has long been insistent that the blockbuster needed to be directed by a woman, while she has also admitted that she is still stopped on the streets and recognized as Wonder Woman on a daily basis. That's probably going to happen even more now that Wonder Woman has done so well with critics and, hopefully, audiences. We don't have much longer to wait until Wonder Woman is finally in theaters, as it will be released into cinemas on June 2. So far it has amassed a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is substantially more than the previous installments to the DC Extended Universe, and suggests that Warner Bros. has finally kickstarted the DCEU after Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Suicide Squad were met with a more lukewarm response.
