The last ten years have been very good for comic book superheroes on the silver screen. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but overall the current status of the superhero movie has reached heights only dreamed of during the ‘90s.
But even after ten years, there is still a wide variety of A- and B-list characters that have yet to rise from development hell and make a successful transition to celluloid.
Case File #001:
WONDER WOMAN
The comic:
Princess. Amazon. Ambassador. Warrior. Super hero. When you think of costumed super-heroines, you think of Wonder Woman. Even if you’ve never picked up a comic book, you probably already know about the indestructible bracelets, the lasso of truth, or the invisible plane. So where’s the movie?
The movie:
This one deserves a straight origin story. There are a multitude of iconic moments from Wonder Woman’s introduction that are still waiting to be captured on film. More importantly, it is such a unique origin that it would already be free of many of the formulaic story points that plague other superhero films (ex: death of hero’s parents; the training montage; first discovering super-powers). Last year’s excellent animated DTV would make a great template, as would George Perez’s late-80’s ‘Gods & Mortals’ revamp of the character. Other than certain modern-day updates, it’s not as though the filmmakers would have to reinvent the character like they do all the time with Batman and Superman, since they’ve hit the cinemas several times and Wonder Woman hasn’t made it up there once.
Suggested director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Could it happen?
Producer Joel Silver has spent a decade trying to get the project off the ground to no avail, attempting to develop several screenplays from an endless parade of writers. Back in 2005, supergeek underdog Joss Whedon was brought in to write and direct, but he and the studio split over creative differences two years later.
But there has been good news recently. Last year, hot off the success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov mentioned Wonder Woman as one of several DC characters with solo films in “active development.” And according to current series writer Gail Simone, things are looking up with the formation of DC Entertainment under the Warner Bros. banner.