DC Comics has released the first image of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman from their upcoming super hero flick, Batman v. Superman.
No one was more excited to hear that Wonder Woman was finally coming to the big screen than I was. But that excitement was tempered by my nerd rage over Man of Steel. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is easily the dumbest title of any super hero movie ever, is from the same creative team of writer David Goyer and director Zach Snyder that made a Superman movie that could have had “You will believe a man can end a conflict by snapping his opponent’s neck” as a tagline. Or even “You will believe a man can stand by and watch his adopted father die pointlessly”. Yes, those are Man of Steel spoilers. Man of Steel sucks. Get over it.
If these guys couldn’t get Superman right, what were the odds they would get Wonder Woman right? Slim to none. But my desire to see a Wonder Woman movie gave me some glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe they would pull it off. The casting of Ben Affleck as Batman deflated my enthusiasm. The casting of a waif-like super model as Wonder Woman did little to help. And recent pictures like Sad Batman and Superman in the Rain just about squashed those hopes. But now we have our first glimpse of Wonder Woman and…
Hopes are officially dead now. This image would be perfect for a Xena movie. Doesn’t anyone at Warner Brothers realize that super heroes have never been more popular than they are right now?!? Why do they insist on down playing the super hero elements in their super hero movies. Although Wonder Woman has elements of a warrior princess, I don’t want to see Wonder Woman reduced to a female Conan.
Also, is this movie in black and white? Why don’t any of the promotional images have any color in them. Super hero movies are supposed to be colorful.
Well, at least Guardians of the Galaxy is supposed to be good.
That doesn’t look like Wonder Woman in any way, shape, or form. Lynda Carter will always personify Wonder Woman to me. I understand Warners might want to revamp the costume some from the colorful 70’s-era one, but looking at that pic above, it just looks NOTHING like a Wonder Woman costume. They didn’t incorporate any of the iconic elements of Wonder Woman’s classic costume at all. You hit the nail on the head, this belongs in Xena: Warrior Princess, not WW. Way, way too drab, dark and generic looking. Warners really missed the mark on this one. Sheesh.
And yet, I would say at least 80% of the reaction I saw online was positive. My wife and kids were out of town when the picture was released. I had my wife show the picture to my 5-year-old who is a big Wonder Woman fan. We’re not even in the same state, so I’m not influencing her at all. Kara’s reaction was that she didn’t like it. “She looks too elvish.” I agree that Lynda Carter was perfect. And I also understand the desire to update the costume for the 21st century. You don’t want Wonder Woman running around… Read more »
The middle pic really works for me. Is that Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother in the Wonder Woman costume? It sure looks like her. But it looks great, it has the key iconic colors and elements in there, red, blue, gold. A shame Gal Gadot couldn’t wear this instead.
Honestly, I’m not sure. It could be.
Restoring the colors would go a long way. Same with Superman.
I was just reading an article on EmpireOnline about how the Wonder Woman costume was premiered at Comic Con over the weekend, and they mentioned “Which the online snarkers immediately began comparing to Xena: Warrior Princess”. That comment immediately made me think of what you said! Ha ha Spot on.
But notice how that opinion is dismissed as being that of “online snarkers”. Might as well call us malcontents.
I have been shocked by how in the minority I am on Snyder, Man of Steel and BvS:DoJ (which is an unbelievably stupid title). A lot of people are going apeshit for every tidbit which frankly makes me sad. I hate what Snyder is doing to these characters I have loved since I was little.
Is that Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother in the Wonder Woman costume?
Probably. She was going to star as Wonder Woman back when Joss Whedon was attached to the project a few years back.
I would have loved to have seen Whedon’s Wonder Woman.
How come they shot that Wonder Woman TV pilot down seemingly by committee yet this boring design has come so far along? Zzzz
I actually prefer the cheesy TV costume to this one. But I’m an “online snarker”.
I wonder if you’d even realise this was Wonder Woman if they hadn’t told you so?
The only tip-off to me is the eagle head. Elements are there but they aren’t recognizable. She has something tiara-like and bracelets and boots. But without context, she looks more barbarian than super hero.
My first reaction was the very same. If I wasn’t told that this is Wonder Woman, and if I didn’t know who Gal Gadot was, would I (or anyone else) even guess that this is supposed to be Wonder Woman? I don’t think I would.
Even a splash of red would make all the difference. Hopefully the colors will pop a little more when she’s not standing on a volcano (or whatever is going on in this picture).
God I hate this movie. Everything about it. I’d say I’ll never watch it but morbid curiosity is going to get the better of me
As much as I am dreading it, there is no way I won’t go see it opening weekend. The same thing happened with Batman and Robin. I have to go see the train wreck. Nothing would bring me more happiness than taking my daughter to a good movie with Wonder Woman in it. She’s a huge Wonder Woman fan which has made me appreciate the character on a level I never anticipated. I hope I’m wrong and this is the movie I want it to be. But it looks like it is doing everything wrong. Well, at least I should… Read more »
Another sign the zombie apocalypse is almost upon us!
Doesn’t anyone at Warner Brothers realize that super heroes have never been more popular than they are right now?!? Why do they insist on down playing the super hero elements in their super hero movies.
It’s actually pretty simple; Catwoman, Green Lantern and Superman Returns were all “superheroey” and the first two were disasters and SR underperformed studio expectations.
Meanwhile, the Nolan Batman trilogy obliterated box office records and the Nolan produced MoS made $668 million.
From a business perspective it’s tough to blame them for sticking with what has worked for them.
From a business perspective. But making movies is supposed to be a creative business. Stop snickering! Ideally, someone at WB should realize that although the Nolan approach works for Batman, it can’t be applied to ever character in the DC stable. For years, Nolan himself said that his cinematic universe ONLY works for Batman. He specifically said that Superman can’t exist in the Nolanverse. But after the success of the Dark Knight, that stance seems to have softened. Presumably, this is a separate continuity from the three Batman movies that starred Christian Bale. But the tone is similar and it’s… Read more »
One central flaw in the plot of Superman Returns, to me, is the whole idea that Superman left Earth for a few years to fly to Krypton, just to make sure that Krypton truly is gone. The flaw there is, Isn’t the whole premise of Superman that he gained his superhuman powers because on Earth he lives under a yellow sun, instead of Krypton’s red sun? If that is how Superman has superpowers, then the further away he flies from our sun, shouldn’t his powers gradually fade, until he is so far away that he is just a mere mortal,… Read more »
There is actually a deleted scene that shows Superman flying through the wreckage of Krypton in a spaceship. It’s a very cool scene that should not have been cut considering the dreck that was left in the movie instead. My problem is that Superman left the earth for several years to confirm Krypton’s destruction. Superman II ends with him promising he will never leave earth unprotected again. So apparently the next thing he does is leave earth unprotected for five years abandoning his unborn son. This is after having just erased Lois’ memory of actually conceiving the child. Next thing… Read more »
My big problem is that based on Kate Bosworth’s age, Lois Lane would have been 17 years old when she got knocked up by Superman.
(Seriously, though has any movie in recent history combined Superman Returns’ critical and commercial success and still been more hated?)
Ang Lee’s Incredible Hulk may give Superman Returns a run for its money.
Excellent point on the miscasting of Bosworth.
Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane is one of the worst casting decisions I have ever seen in a film. I’m not just saying that, I really mean it. Even putting the age issue aside for a moment (she was too young to play Lois), Bosworth was just so boring and bland in that role, back in the original films Margot Kidder was magnificent as Lois. Heck, even Amy Adams was pretty good as Lois in the recent Superman reboot. But Bosworth? Horribly, horribly miscast.
I will say this much for Bosworth. The role as written was impossible to play. She spends the whole movie mad at Superman. And she has very good reason to be angry with the guy. But he’s Superman. We as an audience are supposed to be on his side. So from our point of view, she’s just a miserable single mom grinding an axe against the Christ-like savior that is Superman. Plus she went and got engaged to Cyclops.
You’re right. Superman Returns’ flaws don’t begin, or end, with Kate Bosworth’s casting. Bryan Singer made two excellent X-Men films just prior to this (Usual Suspects was great too, as is his current X-Men Days Of Future Past), so Singer is definately a skilled director capable of making very enjoyable films, yet for a self-proclaimed Superman fan it’s surprising to see just how off-the-mark he was with SR. I have no doubt Singer had the best of intentions, and his love and sincerity for Superman 1 and 2 does shine through as this was meant to be a spiritual sequel… Read more »
You would expect so.
As he was promoting the latest X-Men, Singer complained that the problem with Superman Returns was that it was aimed at women. Wrong. He still doesn’t get what a mess his movie was. The entire movie takes place from Superman’s point of view. Lois is presented as a shrew to be tamed. A prize Superman can win back. The movie is not remotely told from a feminine point of view. If that was his intent, he failed completely. But I think it’s more of a convenient excuse after the fact.
I will question the notion that Catwoman and Green Lantern were “superheroey”. Catwoman is an antihero. That movie was dark and intended to be moody. The character was virtually unrecognizable from any previous incarnation. Green Lantern downplayed the super hero elements in favor of sci fi. And once again, it took great liberties with the character starting with a very ill-advised redesign of the costume. Also casting Reynolds was probably a critical blunder. I’ll admit that I have probably seen fifteen minutes of Green Lantern and Catwoman combined, so I can’t really judge fairly, but I meant “superheroey” relative to… Read more »
I can agree with all points there. Unfortunately, WB is going to see this thing through until it blows up in their faces. Actually what scares me is that it may be successful. The kids seem to really like Man of Steel. Go on Reddit and criticize it. They will downvote the heck out of you.
Any thoughts on Warner’s decision to change the Batman V Superman release date? I certainly have some of my own, but I’d be interested in hearing yours first.
I was surprised it took them this long to move it. Putting it against a Marvel movie was foolish. I think they realized that after the weekend grosses for Guardians of the Galaxy.
GOTG absolutely had a hand in Warner’s decision, no doubt. This has all played out like a soap opera. Warners attempted to play bully with Marvel, and they failed. Marvel claimed the May 6th, 2016 date for one of their movies, then what Warners did next is shocking: they then announced their Batman V Superman movie for the same exact date. Warners felt they had two (three if you count Wonder Woman) of the biggest comic book characters in history in their upcoming film, and they would show their strength to the world and force big bad Marvel off their… Read more »
For the most part, I agree. I wasn’t ever angry at WB for challenging Marvel. That is just how the game is played. But someone was going to have to blink and now they look silly because they are the ones who issued the challenge and the ones who walked away from it.
You know what would really crack me up? If Marvel quickly moved Captain America 3 to March 25, 2016, just to see what happens. I totally mean that as a joke, by the way.