Wonder Woman (2017 film)

Synopsis

In the early 20th century, the Amazon princess Diana, who is living on the island of Themyscira, meets American military pilot Steve Trevor when he is washed ashore. After learning from him about the ongoing events of World War I, she leaves her home for London to bring an early end to the war.

Cast

Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:

The Amazon princess, daughter of Zeus and immortal warrior. Gadot described her character as having "many strengths and powers, but at the end of the day she's a woman with a lot of emotional intelligence". As to how her character will be different from her appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gadot said "We go back 100 years to when she's more naive", further explaining, "She's this young idealist. She's pure. Very different to the experienced, super-confident, grown-up woman you've seen". Gadot underwent a diet and training regimen, practiced different martial arts and gained 17 pounds of muscle for the role. Élodie Yung and Olga Kurylenko had also auditioned for the role. Gadot was previously offered the role as Faora Hu-Ul in Man of Steel but declined because she was pregnant at that time; this allowed her to be later cast as Wonder Woman in the film's sequel. Gadot signed a three-picture deal and debuted in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Emily Carey portrays the young Diana.

Chris Pine as Steve Trevor:

A captain from the United States Army Air Service and love interest of Diana Prince. Pine described his character as a "rogue-ish, cynical realist who's seen the awful brutish nature of modern civilization" and added he is a "worldly guy, a charming guy". Pine signed a multi-picture deal.

Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta:

The Amazon queen of Themyscira and Diana's mother. Nicole Kidman was in negotiations for the role but was forced to drop due to scheduling conflicts with Big Little Lies. Nielsen had previously been considered for the role of Superman's mother, Lara Lor-Van, in Man of Steel.

Robin Wright as General Antiope: The sister of Hippolyta and Diana's aunt.

David Thewlis as Ares: The treacherous Greek god of war, and son of Zeus who poses as Sir Patrick Morgan, an advocate for peace on the war council.

Danny Huston as General Erich Ludendorff: An ambitious general of the German Army during World War I.

Elena Anaya as Maru / Doctor Poison: A mad scientist who specializes in chemistry such as poisons.

Lucy Davis as Etta Candy: Steve Trevor's comical but loyal and friendly secretary who befriends Diana.

Saïd Taghmaoui as Sameer: A secret agent who is a master of disguise, an ally of Steve Trevor.

Ewen Bremner as Charlie: A heavy-drinking sharpshooter, who’s already had a tour of duty and has post-traumatic stress disorder, an ally of Steve Trevor.

Eugene Brave Rock portrays Chief, an opportunist who trades with both sides of the war and knows how to get people across the front lines, and Lisa Loven Kongsli portrays Menalippe, Antiope's lieutenant. Mayling Ng, Florence Kasumba, Madeleine Vall, and boxer Ann Wolfe play the Amazons Orana, Senator Acantha, Egeria, and Artemis, respectively. Dutch model Doutzen Kroes will also portray an Amazon. Samantha Jo, who played Car-Vex in Man of Steel, was cast as Euboea.

Development

Development for a theatrical-release Wonder Woman film began in 1996, with Ivan Reitman attached as producer and possible director. Three years later, the project was attached to Jon Cohen, who was adapting Wonder Woman for producer Joel Silver, with the hope that Sandra Bullock would star. Silver approached Todd Alcott two years later to write the screenplay, with Silver Pictures backing the project. Early gossip linked actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé Knowles, Bullock, Rachel Bilson, Nadia Bjorlin, Megan Fox, Eliza Dushku and Catherine Zeta-Jones to the role of Wonder Woman. Leonard Goldberg, speaking in a May 2001 interview, named Bullock as a strong candidate for the project. Bullock claimed that she was approached for the role, while wrestler Chyna expressed interest. Turning down the part in the past, Xena's Lucy Lawless indicated that she would have been more interested if Wonder Woman was portrayed as a "flawed hero." The screenplay then went through various drafts written by Alcott, Cohen, Becky Johnston, and Philip Levens and by August 2003, Levens was replaced by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis.

In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) would write and direct the film adaptation of Wonder Woman, with a reported salary was of $2 to $3 million. Since Whedon was directing Serenity at the time, and required time to research Wonder Woman's background, he did not begin the screenplay until late 2005. While Whedon stated in May 2005 that he would not cast Wonder Woman until he finished the script, Charisma Carpenter, Morena Baccarin, and Priyanka Chopra were in talks to portray Wonder Woman in the film adaptation by Whedon. After nearly two years as script-writer, however, Whedon had not managed to write a finished draft, and in 2007 left the project.

A day before Whedon's departure from Wonder Woman, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures purchased a spec script written by Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland. Set during World War II, the script impressed executives at Silver Pictures. However, Silver stated that he purchased the script because he did not want the rights reverting; while admitting script had good ideas, Silver did not want the Wonder Woman film to be a period piece. By April 2008, Silver hired Jennison and Strickland to write a new script set in contemporary times that would not depict Wonder Woman's origin, but explore Paradise Island's history. A few years later in 2010, Warner Bros. stated that a film was in development, along with films based on her DC Comics counterparts The Flash and Aquaman. In 2011, director Nicolas Winding Refn and actress Christina Hendricks spoke of their desire to make a Wonder Woman film together during interviews for their film Drive. David S. Goyer said that he would love to make a Wonder Woman movie. According to a 2013 article posted by TheWrap website, Wonder Woman was apparently one of two projects that Warner Bros. were considering to adapt to the big screen. A source from Warner Bros. told TheWrap that they were discussing the possibilities with mention of more Man of Steel movies as well as a Superman/Batman film, Wonder Woman and Aquaman. DC Chief Diane Nelson hinted that the Amazonian princess is as important as Superman and Batman in the film. On October 5, 2013, WB chairman Kevin Tsujihara wanted to get Wonder Woman in film or TV. On October 10, 2013, IGN interviewed Paul Feig about pitching an ideal Wonder Woman for the studio as an action-comedy film. The studio then began to search for female directors to direct the film, with Forbes reporting that the studio had a shortlist that included Kathryn Bigelow, Catherine Hardwicke, Mimi Leder, Karyn Kusama, Julie Taymor, Michelle MacLaren and Tricia Brock. While MacLaren was the studio's initial choice to direct the film (and while she initially indicated interest), she eventually left the project due to creative differences.

Eventually in 2015, Patty Jenkins accepted the offer to direct Wonder Woman (with a screenplay by Allan Heinberg and a story co-written by Heinberg & Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs). The film is the first summer tent pole superhero film directed by a woman, and Jenkins is the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist. In addition, the screenplay alters Wonder Woman's original comic book origins within the context of World War II, moving her instead to the 1910s and World War I. It also follows DC Comics' origin changes in The New 52 reboot, where Diana is the daughter of Zeus, rather than a figure created out of clay by the gods.

Casting

Gal Gadot won the title role (over Élodie Yung and Olga Kurylenko) for the first theatrical appearance of Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Chris Pine was cast as Steve Trevor, and Sean Bean and Eva Green were considered for the villains Ares and Circe, respectively. In November 2015, Saïd Taghmaoui was cast in an unspecified role. While Nicole Kidman was in talks for a role, she eventually withdrew from the project.

Filming

Production began in November 2015, under the working title Nightingale. Among the film sets are Kings Cross Station and Trafalgar Square in London with several attractions in Southern Italy such as the Sassi di Matera, Castel del Monte, Palinuro and Camerota. Matthew Jensen was the director of photography, filming in the United Kingdom, France and Italy. Production in London ended on March 13, 2016. On March 20, 2016, filming was underway in Italy. In late April filming took place at The Louvre, where a Wayne Enterprises truck was spotted alongside Gadot. Production ended in early May 2016.

Post-production

Bill Westenhofer will serve as the visual effects supervisor, Martin Walsh as the editor, and Rupert Gregson-Williams as the composer for Wonder Woman (with additional music provided by Tom Howe).

Release

Although its debut was originally scheduled for June 23, 2017, Wonder Woman will be released on June 2, 2017. It will also be released in IMAX.