Thomas Roach on whether 2017 is too soon for a Wonder Woman movie…
It has been announced that Wonder Woman will be getting a solo movie in 2017 and frankly I think that is too soon. Sure DC and Warner Bros. want to produce as many films as possible to catch up with Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, but I fear Wonder Woman should not be done this early on… although I guess it shows some ambition that it will be Warner Bros. to be the first studio to produce a female led superhero project as part of the current crop of movies.
The main concern for me is that Gal Gadot does not have enough experience to lead a movie. She actually started out as a model before moving into acting and so far she has taken several supporting roles but is yet to prove she can carry her own film. She has now got some acting experience, but starring in films and carrying a movie as a lead are very different things. So far she has not shown me she could be the lead in a film, but that could change very quickly. Giving people a chance is important so we will have to wait and see if she gets any more leading roles, and see how well she does playing Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Gadot’s casting in Batman v Superman was not well received and even now people are doubting her. Some argue that she looks nothing like Wonder Woman, but that is debatable. A big question though is, “what if she sucks?” I am all for giving actors a chance even if they seem completely wrong for the role, but what if she is bad? By the time Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is released production on the Wonder Woman film will have likely started and Gadot’s version may have been terribly received. If that is the case then a Wonder Woman movie will be wasted. Sure she may be able to save the role in a standalone movie if she doesn’t deliver during her first appearance, but fans seem pretty angry anyway and some will no doubt be negative regardless of how she performs.
2017 seems too soon for a Wonder Woman movie, but if Gal Gadot turns out to be great in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice then it wont matter. The studio will argue that she has already shown them how good she is and that they are optimistic, but audiences don’t think like the studios do. All we can do is wait to see how she does in 2016.
Do you think Gal Gadot has what it takes to carry her own Wonder Woman movie? Let us know…
Thomas Roach
Originally published October 20, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
