10 Things we’re excited to see in Wonder Woman

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Between our edit bay visit, the new poster AND the new trailer we got a lot of new info and goodies for the upcoming WONDER WOMAN movie starring Gal Gadot, the woman capable of rocking skirt-clad armor and sticking a foot up your ass. With all these new details it's hard to pick the one to two things to be excited for. But we at JoBlo don't think you should be limited to so few options. We have compiled a list of ten aspects of the upcoming superhero blockbuster to get you pumped like an Amazonian warrior.

SUPPORTING CAST

We can nip this one in the bud because, like most superhero movies nowadays, WONDER WOMAN has a tremendous supporting cast of top-notch talent. On top of Gadot we have Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, Robin Wright as General Antiope, Danny Huston as General Erich Ludendorff, David Thewlis as Sir Patrick Morgan, Ewen Bremner as Charlie and Elena Anaya as Maru/Doctor Poison/Phantom of the Opera. A great cast always makes a movie a bit better, so no matter what WOMAN will at least have that. But will with all this other goodness we'll discuss there's plenty to make it a noteworthy blockbuster.

RELATIONSHIP WITH STEVE TREVOR

The relationship between Trevor (Pine) and Diana (Gadot) is particularly attractive to me not just because it involves two very beautiful human beings, but because their personalities are so naturally counter-balanced. Diana’s innocence will surely clash with Trevor’s battle-tested realism, and as we’ve seen from the trailer it will, at the least, drive much of the movie’s humor. But, more importantly, this isn’t a romance about one hero and their love interest needing to be saved. These are two strong characters who can take care of themselves, and in that their personalities will make for a much more dynamic and passionate relationship than most in the genre. My mind goes to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) from the CAPTAIN AMERICA movies, and much like Rogers I think the character of Diana will be very influenced by the love story in WONDER WOMAN.  

ANOTHER DC CHARACTER GETTING THE TIME TO SHINE

Though we have seen other DC characters come and go on-screen, we have to face the simple truth that without Bats and Supes the DC film universe would be deader than Bruce Wayne’s parents. Harsh, I know, but these two characters are the only ones that have proven successful at the box office. GREEN LANTERN was the only one that got a recent shot at breaking that trend, and all it did was make Ryan Reynolds look like a lime-flavored jelly bean. WONDER WOMAN represents the official start of the DCEU’s expansion, finally bringing one of their most renowned and beloved characters to the big screen. Capes? We don’t need no stinkin’ capes!

SOME DCEU LIGHTNESS

This has to be the biggest point of contention between lovers and haters of the DCEU. Some admire the more grounded, serious tone of MAN OF STEEL and BVS in comparison to the Marvel movies, while others think they come off as melodramatic and somber. Though I appreciate a serious, dramatic comic book movie (LOGAN), I am in the camp that believes the DCEU movies come off as more bleak than dramatic. These characters are gods from comic books, so a bit of fun, lightness and a bit of humor should contribute to the fantasical territory, and with WONDER WOMAN we’ll be able to see how much of a difference a little levity makes.

PATTY JENKINS' RETURN TO FILM

The only movie we’ve seen from Jenkins was the unsettling but soulful MONSTER (2003) with Charlize Theron in an Oscar-winning role. But, as Jenkins put it, it’s ironic that people know her for that film when WONDER WOMAN is the movie she’s wanted to do most of her life. She’s been pitching the movie to Warner Bros. since 2004, but finally got her shot to make the movie she always wanted when the studio decided to include WW in their expanding universe. Jenkins knows the character back-to-front, and her passion for Diana is what gives me confidence this will be the best DCEU yet.

WWI SETTING

It’s not often we get superhero movies set in the past. Back then there were fewer landmarks to destroy, fewer skyscrapers for the villain to use to launch a blue beam into the air, and less radioactive material for which someone may derive powers from. But CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER proved you can have pulpy, old-school fun with a WWII setting, and WONDER WOMAN is upping that punk by going even further to WWI. It will be exciting to see Diana take on tanks, and rifle fire while dashing through the “No Man’s Land” area we’ve seen in the trailers. It’s a setting we’ve never seen in a comic book movie, and will give the genre a unique flavor and playground to mess around in. Overall, going back so far gives Diana enough space to grow, keeping Bat men and Kryptonians far away. Which leads us to our next point…

THE ORIGIN STORY

You wouldn’t be a Wrong Arnold in thinking DC and Warner Bros. kind of bum-rushed their universe after MAN OF STEEL. They threw a lot at audiences in BVS, and as a result it’s a key reason why it suffered. There was just too much, and with JUSTICE LEAGUE on the way it doesn’t seem like the studios have any intention on slowing down. However, WONDER WOMAN will act as that shining, golden light in the potentially dark tunnel. Taking a step back and focusing on one character is a refreshing move and will let audiences get to know Diana on a more intimate level before she busts skulls in LEAGUE. We’ll see how she went from naïve Amazonian to the warrior woman for all mankind. I feel this kind of origin is something we won’t get to see much of after LEAGUE hits, with Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) getting too big of introductions. The notion of going back in the past to explore a character’s origin is something only Wonder Woman is going to benefit from, and I think that alone will make this a standout in the entire DCEU staple.

ARES

We didn’t know a ton about the character’s role in the movie for a long while, other than he’s the one the people of Themyscira believe to be responsible for the outbreak of WWI. But from the edit bay visit we learned much more about the background involving the character's battle with Diana's father, Zeus. We haven’t seen a good picture of him, and only know what he’ll look like based on a toy we saw not too long ago. As awesome as toys are that’s not really a great visual to have of the big baddie. His role as the villain goes a long way in playing-up the fantasy element against the backdrop of a real war setting, and will pose as a greater, ultimate threat to Diana. We know she can crush some puny-ass soldiers. She needs a real challenge.

SEEING THEMYSCIRA

As our own Paul Shirey noted from his edit bay visit the realm of Themyscira looks like Rivendell out of LORD OF THE RINGS, but much bigger and lacking any vegetarian elves. The visuals make it look like a lush, beach-side kingdom fit with grand, magnificent architecture and luxury condos. But in relation to the DCEU we’ve only seen other worlds via the opening of MAN OF STEEL, with everything else taking place in Gotham, Metropolis – which look like the same place but with a few sign changes. Themyscira, like Asgard in the MCU, will be our first major look at fantastical realms in this universe, expanding our knowledge of the world these characters live in. The land has a rich mythos behind it with much of its history, and the characters that live in it, taking from Greek mythology. If that sounds like nerd porn to you, then, you should feel proud of yourself because that's exactly what it is.

GAL GADOT AS WONDER WOMAN

Easily the most important aspect of WONDER WOMAN is Gal Gadot as the lead heroine. We got a taste of her skills in BVS, and she nailed it as the sexy, confident, mysterious figure looming around Bruce Wayne, only to steal the whole goddamn show in the final battle. If she had been given only a few more minutes she would’ve chopped that overgrown ninja turtle’s head clean off, and Superman wouldn’t have gone and acted a damn fool. But she's getting to run the whole mother-flippin' show here, and based on the trailers she will not disappoint in bringing the business to anyone dumb enough to aim a gun at her, or mess with her and her man in an alley. Though this has themes of a fish-out-of-water story our bay visit let us know that although Diana is entranced by the human world around her she never loses her genuine sense of strength. She's no dummy, and never loses sight of herself. In a genre famously dominated by men, WONDER WOMAN will lead the charge in bringing female heroes to the screen, and Gal Gadot seems more the able to handle the task.