Before the Wonder Woman theatrical movie, the most well-known representation of the superheroine outside of the comics was the 1970s Wonder Woman TV series led by Lynda Carter. 40 years after it originally aired, the show is still considered a staple of superhero media, so director Patty Jenkins was wise to chat with Carter when she started working on Diana of Themyscira's movie. But Jenkins also had some assurances for the '70s TV icon, saying that she wasn't trying to radically change Wonder Woman for the big screen. As Jenkins recalled:
Even when I met Lynda [Carter], I said, 'What's important to me is that I'm not trying to make a new Wonder Woman. I'm trying to carry the torch forward of something that we all love.'
While Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman certainly has her differences from Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman and other iterations, it was important for Patty Jenkins to ultimately be faithful to Diana's history and help make her even more popular to the masses. But Jenkins didn't just find inspiration from the TV series. She also looked at other notable influences, including the character's creator, William Moulton Marston (who is the subject of an upcoming biopic) and George Perez, who wrote one of the most cherished Wonder Woman comic book runs. Jenkins continued to The Frame:
Marston, Pérez, Lynda Carter ... There have been these many stops along the way. Far more than I could ever say here. But people who have been carrying a very similar version of Wonder Woman forward. And I wanted to stay very in line with that.
While Lynda Carter was unable to cameo in Wonder Woman, she praised the movie last month, and Patty Jenkins has expressed interest in trying to get her on board for a potential sequel. In any case, having been around for over 75 years, there was a lot of source material to draw from for her first movie and second DCEU appearance. The movie was an interesting blend of existing elements (like Diana's demigod heritage from the New 52) and some brand-new material (like setting her standalone story in World War I), and the amalgamation paid off. Nearly two weeks after its domestic release, Wonder Woman has earned near-critical acclaim from critics and regular viewers alike, and it's collected more than $444 million worldwide.
Wonder Woman is now playing in theaters, and while Wonder Woman 2 is being worked on (though not officially greenlit yet), Patty Jenkins is currently not signed on to direct. In the meantime, you can see Diana back on the big screen when Justice League is released on November 17. For those of you interested in seeing Lynda Carter's other contributions to the superhero genre, she currently recurs as President Olivia Marsdin on the Supergirl TV series.
