Wonder Woman is easily the most well know and arguably popular comic book character not to have a movie based on her exploits. This year marks the character's 70th anniversary and aside from a couple of rumors and half assed hints that doesn't seem any closer to becoming a reality. In the pages og DC's New 52 Bruan Azzarello and Cliff Chiang have been doing a great job with Wonder Woman, while also tweaking her origins a little. In a great, in depth interview with The LA Times' Hero Complex the duo discuss this, but also give their thoughts on why it has taken so long, and what some of the problems may be in adapting Wonder Woman for the screen. Here is an excerpt from the interview..
GB: Superman and Batman are taking flight again on the big screen but Wonder Woman is still waiting her turn. It sort of boggles the mind especially when you consider the fact that Ghost Rider, Swamp Thing, the Punisher and Hellboy each have made it to the screen two or more times. Do you think that speaks to something in the audience or in the creative world? In other words, is it the fact that we don’t want to see a movie bad enough or is it the fact that Hollywood can’t make it good enough?
CC: Wow, that’s a big one. I would say that the audience has wanted different things out of a Wonder Woman movie over the years and that the creative side hasn’t quite figured out the way go. Wonder Woman presents a thorny question: How are you going to show the premier female superhero to the audience in a way that will satisfy that audience? I think now is the time for a Wonder Woman movie. I think it would be great. I think people’s ideas of what a woman can do and the way women heroes can be presented is much broader. You think back to the old TV show, it was pretty campy, but it was the ’70s. The thing is Lynda Carter never made fun of Wonder Woman, which was great and it’s one of the reasons the show really inspired a lot of people to fall in love with Wonder Woman. She did it with a straight face and one of the things we want to do is sort of present this no-nonsense woman warrior. That’s not to say she isn’t compassionate, she’s just ready to get down to business.
BA: I don’t know, they like her on TV. At the theater? I don’t know the answer. I think when people go to comic-book movies they’re going with a preconceived notion of the characters, although I guess “Iron Man” broke that mold. But you go to a Superman movie or a Batman movie and you know who they are. What sold the first Superman movie was the fact that he could fly and the special effects were so great — ‘You’ll believe a man can fly,’ that was the tagline. They are kind of these clear niches where they work, Batman in Gotham City and has seriously creepy villains, Superman is in Metropolis and he fights with the smartest man on Earth. With Wonder Woman, I don’t think people know what they would get out of that right now. Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor?
Bottom line is, after that failed tv show WB are going to be even more cautious about a
Wonder Woman flick. There is no doubt that the character poses a bigger problem for screen adaptation than many others, but if the right director and writers are found it could be really great I think.
Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn has been VERY vocal about his desire to make a WW movie. but as much as I admire his talent he has admitted not knowing very much about the character's comic book history. What do you guys think? Who is the right man/woman to finally bring this character to our screens?
There is much more to the interview, be sure to click the link below to check it out.
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About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.