Wonder Woman finally hits theaters this weekend after being met with near-unanimous critical praise [read our reviews here and here], and one aspect moviegoers not familiar with the superheroine will notice is that the Amazon Princess is comfortable killing her foes.
Speaking to IGN, director Patty Jenkins commented on this, stating that: “She is actually one of the superheroes, interestingly, who is not averse to killing when necessary, which is fascinating. But she also is the least likely to do it, I think, because she will always try anything else before she will resort to killing anyone. That’s an incredible balance of Wonder Woman. I always think of it like putting a wounded animal down. It’s like there’s something very maternal [about] Wonder Woman, when push comes to shove if nobody else wants to do it, Wonder Woman would step up and take care of business. But she doesn’t want to do it, and she would never take any delight in it. That’s Wonder Woman to me.”
Given Superman and Batman’s controversial actions in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it would seem Wonder Woman will fit right in with the Justice League!
SEE ALSO: Wonder Women: The live-action appearances of the Amazon Princess
Meanwhile, speaking to EW, Jenkins has also discussed the decision to alter Diana’s origin from the traditional World War II setting:
“At first, I questioned it because it wasn’t her actual origin story, but very quickly I saw the genius behind it. World War I is the first time that civilization as we know it was finding its roots, but it’s not something that we really know the history of. Even the way that it was unclear who was in the right of WWI is a really interesting parallel to this time. Then you take a god with a moral compass and a moral belief system, and you drop them into this world, there are questions about women’s rights, about a mechanized war where you don’t see who you are killing. It’s such a cool time.”
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.
Originally published June 2, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
