The Wonder Woman Movie: What I Hope and What I Fear

I make no secret of my frustrations over how DC has managed the film development of its multiple properties. Some of the most iconic comic book characters call DC comics home and yet they have not seen a big screen adaptation. Marvel has rolled out multiple films under their own production banner and set up film franchises at several other studios. Yet DC, under the umbrella of the expansive Time Warner media empire, can’t seem to get its act together. Until recently.

After spending the last few years in Marvel’s cinematic shadow, DC has finally committed to releasing a huge slate of films based on its characters. Using the rebooted Superman film, Man of Steel, as an anchor there is going to be an entire shared universe populated by many of the characters from the DC comics. 2016 is going to bring a Batman versus Superman movie (cleverly titled, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) that not only introduces a Batman to the new DC cinematic universe but also a Cyborg, a Flash (rumored), an Aquaman and most importantly a Wonder Woman. Then following every year after that a solo film for each hero and (several) Justice League movie(s) and a couple of other fun surprises (a Suicide Squad film and a possible Justice League Dark).

But here’s the thing, all of this is still only potential. Yes work on Batman v. Superman is close to complete but as far as films starring all those other characters, that is still up in the air. If Batman v. Superman does not succeed, Warner Bros. could easily scrap the whole thing. They’ve done it before. Years ago a possible Justice League movie was set up and about to start production. The roles had been cast, a script written, director chosen, the cast had even begun costume tests. Then Marvel’s The Avengers hit the box office and suddenly the Justice League project looked rather pathetic. And coincidentally coming out this coming summer is, you guess it, ANOTHER Avengers movie.

And while I am frustrated at the lack of success of DC in getting its characters on the big screen, I am also angry because it seems to be their own fault. DC comics has some of the most iconic characters in their list of intellectual properties. They also have access to a major studio in that they are owned by Time Warner, parent company of Warner Bros. Marvel may currently be under the umbrella of Disney, but when they first started their cinematic universe they had to scramble to set up their characters at different studios (a move that many might regret since they have probably forever lost the rights to make films about Spider-Man or the X-Men).

The point is that even though Marvel had far more hurdles to produce their films, they have managed to produce far more movies. DC just keeps recycling films about Batman and Superman. Hell, even the launch of their new cinematic universe involves those two characters. And still no Wonder Woman movie. Marvel made a movie about a talking raccoon and his talking tree friend whose sequel we will see a full month before a solo Wonder Woman film is finally released in theatres. And the cruel irony is that the mastermind behind so much of Marvel’s cinematic success could have been the one to finally give Wonder Woman the big screen treatment.

In 2006 Joss Whedon was working on a draft to direct a live action Wonder Woman film. That’s right, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the most iconic female super heroes, was going to direct THE iconic female super hero. Despite having little experience directing big budget films, it was obvious that he had a handle on what makes a good super hero movie and that he was knowledgeable about this world (anyone who watched Buffy and Angel can see numerous super hero comic book references on those shows). But apparently Warner Bros. didn’t think so and the project fell apart. Well I guess we’ll never see a Joss Whedon super hero movie (enter 2012’s The Avengers and 2015’s Avengers Age of Ultron).

This is not a uncommon occurrence with Wonder Woman. Famous TV producer David E. Kelley produced a pilot for a Wonder Woman TV show. Sadly (or not) the only people who ever saw it were the network executives and the rabid fanboys who traded bootleg copies at cons and online. Another attempt at Wonder Woman prequel series, titled Amazon, never even made it to the pilot stage. The only successful adaptation of Wonder Woman to the big or small screen was in the 1970s, when comic book characters were still campy and bizarre.

I have a bit of a theory about this. Batman and Superman have been adapted so many times (successfully and unsuccessfully) because there are definitive stories that can guide the new creators in their endeavors. Anyone who wants to adapt Batman need only look at The Dark Knight Returns or Hush to get a feel for how the character should be handled. Superman can be done by looking back at the Richard Donner film or Superman For All Seasons or any number of other stories (I might even read Dark Knight Returns for Batman AND Superman as apparently the new Superman movie did).

But there has never been a definitive Wonder Woman story. There is no run of the comics that can be pointed to that completely encapsulate the character of Wonder Woman. Every writer and artist takes a completely new vision of the character, and deservedly so. The original vision of the character of Wonder Woman would not really fly with today’s audiences. The creator of Wonder Woman, Dr. Henry Moulton Marsden, was into so kinky things and that came through in the portrayals of the women in the comic. More often then not each comic featured Wonder Woman being tied up in some manner or other. It is doubtful that will be featured in the big screen Wonder Woman film.

Things could always be worse.

Just because no one HAS made a decent Wonder Woman film yet does not mean it is not possible to do so. Before 2008 I might not have been convinced someone could make a good Iron Man film (and I would be wrong). I can only hope that this is a legitimate attempt to bring this iconic character to the screen and not simply a mad dash by DC to establish a cinematic universe while the competition passes them by. I look forward to 2017 to see what the outcome will be.