Gal Gadot cast as Wonder Woman In ‘Batman Vs. Superman’

[TheSeeker]

To be fair, Christian Bale also looked pretty frail and weak when he was cast as Batman...

There's no reason why she couldn't put on some muscle for the role. Male superhero actors do it all the time.

Demi Moore and Linda Hamilton are two actresses who spring to mind.

In Bale's case, he lost a ton of weight for that role, so, losing the weight was probably tougher than putting it back on. A closer analogy would probably be Chris Hemsworth putting on the bulk for Thor

I just meant in the sense that it is not unheard of for female actors to change their physique for a role.

Adding 15 kilos of muscle does not add "curves" to a woman. And again, which was my point, Wonder Woman is not and has almost never portrayed as a muscular female bodybuilder. I expect her to look fit and slightly athletic, just like she does in the comics.

I beg to differ. Weight training can add some very appealing curves to a woman, particularly in the glutes area. Weight training and putting muscle on does not automatically equal a bodybuilders physique.

 

[Christopher]

Gal is a beautiful woman, but she's not Wonder Woman. Maybe if she gains about 30-pounds of muscle or something but, really, I just don't see it at all.

As it happens, 30 pounds of muscle is just what Christopher Reeve put on when he was cast as Superman. It worked pretty well for him.

Adding 15 kilos of muscle does not add "curves" to a woman.

So now it comes out. "She's too skinny" is really just a euphemism for "Her boobs aren't big enough." I wondered if that might be what was really going on here.

Of course, women can change how curvaceous they are by adding or removing body fat, and models in our society are generally expected to minimize body fat. Looking at photos online of Ms. Gadot, she's clearly more curvaceous in some than in others. And a woman's apparent curvaceousness can be enhanced by costuming; Lucy Lawless's Xena costume made her seem considerably bustier than she actually is.

But it should go without saying, of course, that curvaceousness is not the most important attribute for Wonder Woman.

Don't mean to bust your chops Christopher, but I want someone who looks like a woman playing Wonder Woman, not a stick figure.

Yasmine / Jennifer is quite beautiful and a triumph of self-creation, but it's fairly obvious that their "living doll" look is the product of implants and extensive surgery. It's more than a bit disturbing to see this described as being somehow definitive of what "looks like a woman." Because it isn't. And it certainly has little or nothing to do with how the character of Wonder Woman has been portrayed in comics.

Indeed. I overlooked that part of Duncan's post before, but I have to agree with you -- it's deeply disturbing and offensive to see someone claim that the only way to "look like a woman" is to have fake boobs and pronounced curves. That's not only staggeringly sexist but bizarrely insular, since any man who's actually interacted with real women to any significant extent must be aware that they come in a wide variety of shapes -- and that they don't need the approval of a man in order to qualify as real women. There are many different ways for women to be beautiful, and they're as much about what's on the inside as what's on the surface.

 

[Trekker4747]

As it happens, 30 pounds of muscle is just what Christopher Reeve put on when he was cast as Superman. It worked pretty well for him.

And if that's what this woman does, then it might work out.

So now it comes out. "She's too skinny" is really just a euphemism for "Her boobs aren't big enough." I wondered if that might be what was really going on here.

Well, I wouldn't say that's what I was necessarily arguing but along those lines I'd "sort of" agree she just doesn't have WW's figure. In all of the pre-planning of Wonder Woman weren't many actresses looked over because it wasn't felt their physical size fit with WW's physique? Most depictions have Wonder Woman as a pretty built woman with, yes, curves.

I'm not say Gal doesn't have curves or isn't attractive. She does and is. She just, right now, doesn't have Wonder Woman's curves and physique.

When people were saying that the actress who plays Sif in the Thor movies should be WW there's a reason. She LOOKS like Wonder Woman because she's got some mass on her.

This could all still work out, Gadot, Affleck, having at least three superheroes in the same movie but, right now, ugh... It's looking like a half-assed JL movie.

Maybe someday Wonder Woman will get a her own movie, along with other JL/DC characters and we'll get a decent build up to a JL movie but, right now.... Ugh. Even setting aside the casting I don't think WB is doing this right. I remain guarded and mostly unexcited about this project.

Again, could be surprised and willing to give Affleck and Gadot the benefit of the doubt here but Affleck just on his Affleck-iness and Gadot (superficially on her physique right now) doesn't leave me too hopeful.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"She's too skinny" is really just a euphemism for "Her boobs aren't big enough."

Actually, no, it isn't.

 

[Thestral]

I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, my initial reaction was along the "she's kind of petite for Diana, I was picturing somebody more... Korra-esque, really."

On the other hand, I was firmly in the "Jamie Alexander for WW based on Sif" crowd and as noted Gadot's built fairly similarly.

So in the end, looking forward to seeing what she can do with the role! As to the costume, put me down for a pants version.

 

[Christopher]

Well, I wouldn't say that's what I was necessarily arguing but along those lines I'd "sort of" agree she just doesn't have WW's figure.

Hugh Jackman doesn't have Wolverine's figure either. Wolverine has been described as being like a big, brawny man who's been compressed vertically; he's supposed to be unusually short, broad, and stocky. The whole point of the name "Wolverine" is that he's abnormally tough and scrappy for his small size. But Jackman is tall and lanky. Physically, he's entirely wrong for the role. Yet audiences have accepted him anyway.

The simple fact is, you're almost never going to find someone who looks exactly like a pre-existing character, especially one as physically exaggerated as a comic-book character. And even if you do, there's no guarantee they'll be right for the part in other ways. So as a rule, you don't make looks your priority. You cast the best performer for the part, the one you think is most up to the acting and/or physical demands of the role and has the best chemistry with the rest of the cast. And you accept the change in looks because it's not the exact same character, it's a distinct interpretation of them.

Look at the Harry Potter movies. Both Hermione and Neville were meant to be rather plain-looking and nerdy, but both their portrayers grew up to be quite strikingly good-looking. Yet the filmmakers didn't recast the roles. They stuck with the performers despite their appearance, because they were talented and good at their jobs.

And then of course there are actors like Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, etc. Changing how those characters looked didn't turn out to be a problem in the end.

Bottom line, they aren't casting models for a photo shoot. They're casting actors. So it's about more than how they look.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I'm of two minds on this. On the one hand, my initial reaction was along the "she's kind of petite for Diana, I was picturing somebody more... Korra-esque, really."

I'm not a big fan of body-builder Wonder Woman, but if they had gone with Gina Carano, the inspiration for Korra, I would have liked that. She's also Cavil's ex girlfriend.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ Yeah, the store-bought Halloween costume.

 

[Starfury]

I don't care about boobs, but she cerainly doesnt look like she could throw a punch. For that she would need bigger shoulders, bigger arms, bigger legs, aka putting on some weight, putting on some muscle, doing some lifting. Come on. Male actors get send to the weight room of the gym to give us at least an illusion of strength. And with the females it's always just "look thin, look weak". Bah. I want more Starbucks and Gabrielles -.-

 

[TheSeeker]

Wow, that's from a porn parody? They did a pretty good job matching her New 52 look.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I feel like this thread as turned into a Babe of the Week thread. Ick.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

I don't care about boobs, but she cerainly doesnt look like she could throw a punch. For that she would need bigger shoulders, bigger arms, bigger legs, aka putting on some weight, putting on some muscle, doing some lifting. Come on. Male actors get send to the weight room of the gym to give us at least an illusion of strength. And with the females it's always just "look thin, look weak". Bah. I want more Starbucks and Gabrielles -.-

You don't have to worry about Gal getting in fighting shape for the role. Just look at what Antje Traue/ Faora had to go through preparing for Man Of Steel
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uJylK2o6ng[/yt]

 

[TheSeeker]

Everybody's got an opinion on what WW should look like. I personally feel that it is not unreasonable to expect that a woman who comes from a warrior race to at least look athletic enough to be a warrior.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I couldn't access the linked pics because you have to register to see them.

sorry, I deleted the post then

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I don't care about boobs, but she cerainly doesnt look like she could throw a punch. For that she would need bigger shoulders, bigger arms, bigger legs, aka putting on some weight, putting on some muscle, doing some lifting. Come on. Male actors get send to the weight room of the gym to give us at least an illusion of strength. And with the females it's always just "look thin, look weak". Bah. I want more Starbucks and Gabrielles -.-

But that's simply not what Wonder Woman looks like.

I really wonder where this fixation on muscular women comes from. Does it have something to do with what some people perceive to be "realistic" and all that nonsense?

 

[TheSeeker]

You seem to have the misconception that putting on muscle means automatically being overly muscular.

 

[Christopher]

I don't care about boobs, but she cerainly doesnt look like she could throw a punch. For that she would need bigger shoulders, bigger arms, bigger legs, aka putting on some weight, putting on some muscle, doing some lifting.

This is a myth. People don't have to be bulky-looking to be strong. Women in particular can be muscular without having obvious surface definition, because they naturally have a higher percentage of body fat than men. Female bodybuilders have to reduce their body fat percentage to an unhealthy degree in order to show the same surface definition as male bodybuilders. And really, the surface definition is all show, not substance. Look at photos of strongmen from decades past and they often looked a lot leaner and flabbier than professional bodybuilders today. But the difference is superficial, a matter of sculpting more than functional strength.

The problem is that comics today have gotten into the habit of basing their characters' physiques on bodybuilders and weightlifters rather than other types of athlete, and thus create false expectations about what strong, athletic people look like.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

I don't care about boobs, but she cerainly doesnt look like she could throw a punch. For that she would need bigger shoulders, bigger arms, bigger legs, aka putting on some weight, putting on some muscle, doing some lifting. Come on. Male actors get send to the weight room of the gym to give us at least an illusion of strength. And with the females it's always just "look thin, look weak". Bah. I want more Starbucks and Gabrielles -.-

But that's simply not what Wonder Woman looks like.

I really wonder where this fixation on muscular women comes from. Does it have something to do with what some people perceive to be "realistic" and all that nonsense?

^Maybe they would also like to explain the mechanics of how any woman can fight with breasts as big as WW and Power Girl. In comics it's pure fantasy. Wonder Woman can be drawn and shown fighting with C-E cups, and people rarely question how she is able to.

 

[BigJake]

I feel like this thread as turned into a Babe of the Week thread. Ick.

A thread about Wonder Woman will deteriorate into a minute dissection of female flesh worthy of a butcher shop in a span of time inversely proportionate to the body-mass index of whatever actress has been cast or is in talks to play her.

I really wonder where this fixation on muscular women comes from. Does it have something to do with what some people perceive to be "realistic" and all that nonsense?

Wonder Woman seems to be an object of fetish to a large slice of her fandom. I expect that's a much more common criterion in discussions chewing over what precisely any actress playing her ought to look like (and how much she should be permitted to vary from the appearance of Lynda Carter) than "realism."

 

[Starfury]

You don't have to worry about Gal getting in fighting shape for the role. Just look at what Antje Traue/ Faora had to go through preparing for Man Of Steel

Ah, that's at least a bit reassuring, thanks

You seem to have the misconception that putting on muscle means automatically being overly muscular.

Yeah, this. You say "Muscle" and every nerd instantly thinks of bulky bodybuilding monsters which is... just sad.