Back before Charlize Theron was a well-known action heroine and Patty Jenkins broke the glass ceiling when she directed Wonder Woman, the pair worked together for the 2003 crime drama Monster-- and it won the actress an Oscar. So naturally, when Jenkins was tasked with casting the Amazons in the DC epic she took the opportunity to try to work with her again. At first, however she didn’t understand right away that she wasn’t being asked to play the iconic hero herself. Check out what Theron said:
This is a great example of how Hollywood slaps you in the face when you start aging. So somebody had said to me ‘There’s action on this thing Wonder Woman, we just want to make you aware of it.’ And I was like ‘I’m just not familiar with it, what does Wonder Woman do?’ And this person said ‘No, it’s for Wonder Woman’s mom.’ It’s fine, it’s the defining moment where I crossed over. And I wasn’t fully aware of it.
Well this is awkward. While Charlize Theron was on recently on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen promoting her romantic comedy Long Shot, she was asked about a previous report that she turned down a role on the DCEU origin story. The actress revealed that she assumed she’d been asked to play the lead… and why wouldn’t she? Theron has pulled off playing a badass action star countless times in films such as Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde.
Theron didn’t turn down the role of Hippolyta because she was offended of the casting offer. Here’s what she said years ago of the Wonder Woman role that could have been:
We're friends. I think the world of her. We have a mutual respect for each other. She did come to me, and at the time I was either working on something or I don't know. There was a reason I couldn't do it.
The actress has been consistently swamped with film projects for years so this isn’t an answer that’s difficult to wrap our heads around, though it would have been a treat to see her take on the role of Diana’s mother and the Queen of the Amazons. When the rumors surfaced, many imagined she was asked about Robin Wright’s role of General Antiope. Theron could certainly have pulled off Hippolyta as well, though it now belongs to Connie Nielson. Take a look:
Maybe there’s still time for Charlize Theron to join the franchise? Patty Jenkins does have plans to complete Diana Prince’s story arc with a third Wonder Woman movie at some point. The actress will have a chance to play a comic book character in an upcoming Netflix adaptation of Image Comics’ The Old Guard, which was penned by Wonder Woman writer Greg Rucka. It's perhaps a better place for the actress since she may not be ready to move over to playing moms just yet and she certainly shouldn't have to be.
