Originally published August 11, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
Long before Gal Gadot donned the tiara and bracelets for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and her subsequent solo movie, Warner Bros. spent many a year looking to getting a Wonder Woman movie off the ground, with Joss Whedon boarding the project for a couple of years in the mid-2000s in what proved to be a failed attempt to bring the Amazon Princess to the big screen.
One actress high on Warner Bros.’ shortlist for the role of Diana Prince at that time was Kate Beckinsale, and speaking to Yahoo Movies, the Underworld star has (rather diplomatically) explained why she passed on the opportunity:
“The incarnations that I was seeing were… They weren’t this one [the 2017 film],” said Beckinsale. “Also, I don’t know if I was desperate to be in a leotard. I’d already done the rubber trousers. You have to take in that you have a child at some point and how much could you possibly embarrass them.”
As it happens, Whedon’s script for Wonder Woman leaked online earlier this year, and was roundly savaged by fans, so it’s not difficult to see where Beckinsale is coming from here. Nevertheless, it seems she isn’t entirely ruling out the prospect of a DC role: “There’s a very big alternate universe where I’m Catwoman,” she adds. “There’s a lot of that.”
SEE ALSO: Wonder Woman Blu-ray details announced, special features revealed
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.
Wonder Woman sees Patty Jenkins (Monster) directing a cast that includes Gal Gadot (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Connie Nielsen (Gladiator), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Ewen Bremner (Snowpiercer), Said Taghmaoui (American Hustle), Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In), Lisa Loven Kongsli (Force Majeure), Lucy Davis (Shaun of the Dead) and Ann Wolf.
