I'd Pay to See Kathryn Bigelow Direct Wonder Woman - Would You?

[CaptainCanada]

It's gonna be a challenge no matter who directs it. WW is just a hard character to make relatable to audiences-- she's an Amazon warrior from a hidden island that is ruled by women and somehow looks like Ancient Greece. And she's also got superpowers and can fly and/or pilot an invisible jet.

Somehow they'd have to find a way to get inside her head and make us truly understand her and what she's thinking, like MOS did with Superman. Or give her some kind of unique character arc like Marvel did with Thor, when he got knocked down a peg and work his way back up.

But I'm not really sure how.

Wonder Woman's mythos presents many problems, but the basic hook to the character, particularly in her first appearance, is really not that hard. Diana's a newcomer, who has long dreamed of exploring the wider world, which she's been sent to save. She believes in peace, justice, all that stuff -- not really that different from other superheroes.

Regarding the OP, Bigelow has some genre experience in the past, though at this point I'm not sure whether she's really interested in going back to that. But if she was interested in doing a Wonder Woman film adaptation, I'd see it.

Wonder Woman or Black Widow films seem like the kind of obvious and yet curiously non-discussed routes for the two major franchises in terms of protagonist.

Wonder Woman's been discussed ad nauseum. The WB just has no idea how to do it; but then, on the whole they've been pretty indecisive at actually producing superhero films.

A solo movie for Black Widow I suspect has been discussed. I know Johansson has made some random mentions about the idea in the past. So far Marvel hasn't really made any moves to spin any of the supporting heroes from The Avengers into their own films, but if RDJ isn't up for more Iron Man movies, that may create more spaces in their calendar to go that route.

 

[Dream]

Wonder Woman's mythos presents many problems, but the basic hook to the character, particularly in her first appearance, is really not that hard. Diana's a newcomer, who has long dreamed of exploring the wider world, which she's been sent to save. She believes in peace, justice, all that stuff -- not really that different from other superheroes.

If a lesser known Thor can succeed as a movie with his epic fantasy background, so can a more well known Wonder Woman.

Hell, we already have a decent animated Wonder Woman movie. WB could use that as a kind of model for a live action WW film.

 

[Professor Zoom]

It doesn't have to be a thing.

But in the real world it is

OT: I would be interested in seeing her Wonder Woman.

And one way they should look at it is how WW's current title does it. Urban Fantasy. It's great.

That said, super hero movies seem to be a boys club.

 

[BillJ]

Wonder Woman's mythos presents many problems, but the basic hook to the character, particularly in her first appearance, is really not that hard. Diana's a newcomer, who has long dreamed of exploring the wider world, which she's been sent to save. She believes in peace, justice, all that stuff -- not really that different from other superheroes.

Part of the problem could be that the basic hook is a little too similar to Superman.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Wonder Woman's mythos presents many problems, but the basic hook to the character, particularly in her first appearance, is really not that hard. Diana's a newcomer, who has long dreamed of exploring the wider world, which she's been sent to save. She believes in peace, justice, all that stuff -- not really that different from other superheroes.

Part of the problem could be that the basic hook is a little too similar to Superman.

...no, it's really not. Superman was born on Krypton, but he's functionally a Kansan. The world is foreign to him; he's of it. Diana's not.

OT: I would be interested in seeing her Wonder Woman.

And one way they should look at it is how WW's current title does it. Urban Fantasy. It's great.

I think the single-biggest difficulty in adapting Wonder Woman (apart from studios' anxiety around tentpole films starring women) is the lack of a real comics consensus on her mythos. Dating back to her creator, Diana's best runs have generally been very specific to the vision of the author (George Perez, Greg Rucka, etc.), and haven't had tremendous success in defining a status quo for others to use (Perez and Rucka were both followed by writers who immediately dismantled most of what they had focused on; or, in Rucka's case, he was compelled to do it himself). This results in things like the lack of a firm "home base" in the real world, almost no consistent supporting characters, and a rogue's gallery has plenty of potential but which has never been properly developed.*

There are other issues, of course, some of which relate to elements of Marston's original outline. For Marston it was critical that the Amazons were actually a civilization superior to our world, but there are a lot of creators this clearly rubs the wrong way (Geoff Johns and Bruce Timm, for instance); while others lean more toward making the Amazons more like the mythological Amazons.

* Gail Simone's run was particularly annoying in this regard, because I know for a fact that she read a very detailed fan overview of the pitfalls the past writers had fallen into with regard to handling Diana's villains. Pitfalls which her own run then fell into anyway.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

I'd love to see it - but I have doubts Kathryn Bigelow would even WANT to do it.

 

[JD]

I'm not familiar with Bigelow, as far as I know I don't think I've ever seen anything she's directed, but I love the idea of a woman directing a WW movie. It's not that I believe that only a woman could direct it, or anything, I just think it's a really cool idea.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Wonder Woman's mythos presents many problems, but the basic hook to the character, particularly in her first appearance, is really not that hard. Diana's a newcomer, who has long dreamed of exploring the wider world, which she's been sent to save. She believes in peace, justice, all that stuff -- not really that different from other superheroes.

If a lesser known Thor can succeed as a movie with his epic fantasy background, so can a more well known Wonder Woman.

I think that is exactly the problem with Wonder Woman. People like the general idea of a female protagonist superhero called Wonder Woman, but really they are pretty cold to the actual Wonder Woman character itself.

And there is a lot of stuff there that people don't like that is part of her character, which you can't toss out.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Like what? There's some basic stuff, Amazon, lasso maybe, but what's annoying and critical to the character?

 

[davejames]

I don't follow superheroes much but I do find it utterly bizarre that we got a Green Lantern movie (who?) before there was a Wonder Woman movie, a character I'd actually heard of and has a degree of visibility. But then, apparently the superhero cinema playpen is restricted to guys as protagonists as much as it is, apparently, directors.

I really enjoyed the GL movie, but I agree it's kinda surprising that he of all characters got a movie before WW.

Hell, I would have expected to see a Flash or Supergirl movie before a GL one.

 

[Guy Gardener]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NT7JaQkLUA[/yt]

It's not hard to make a fun Wonder Woman movie.

Set it during WWII and get Tom Hanks to direct.

 

[Gaith]

I must agree that the genre is getting a tad played out in its current iterations on film

Well, I must not agree. In the past three years, we've had X-Men: First Class, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Iron Man 3 - all first-rate flicks. Sure, there've been some disappointments also (Green Lantern, TDKR, MOS), but, financially speaking, only GL was a box-office failure. I can easily rattle off more would-be top-tier non-superhero flops: Cowboys and Aliens, John Carter, Battleship, White House Down, Lone Ranger... There may come a time to say that the superhero genre (to the extent that it even is a genre) needs fresh blood, but from both creative and business perspectives, now is not at all that time.

Indeed, what's really remarkable is the fact that there's not one high-profile, A-list-fueled rom-com on the docket all year... but something tells me this Susan Wloszczyna won't soon be writing a piece on how male voices ought to swoop in and rescue that flailing genre.

Don't get me wrong; I'd be all for superhero movies starring and/or directed by women, but to say that the genre needs "rescuring", as Wloszczyna does, is that feminist's wishful thinking. (And the suggestion that Sofia Coppola might ever sign on for a superheroine movie on terms a major studio could agree to is downright farcical! )

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'd pay to see a Wonder Woman movie period, so the point is moot.

Warners must be kicking themselves now about letting Whedon get away.

 

[the G-man]

My theory on WW has always been that it doesn't matter who the director is as long as he or she understands that there needs to be a certain camp and understated lesbian factor (ala the original creator's intention), more "Xena Warrior Princess" than "the Dark Knight Rise." For that reason I'd say get Sam Raimi.

 

[davejames]

It's not hard to make a fun Wonder Woman movie.

Set it during WWII and get Tom Hanks to direct.

Wow, that costume really does not work in live action.

 

[Gaith]

^ Yeah, the strapless/bare shoulder look is just plain stupid.

 

[Dream]

^ Yeah, the strapless/bare shoulder look is just plain stupid.

Makes about as much sense as a girl fighting crime in a minskirt and red cape.

 

[scotpens]

Yeah, the strapless/bare shoulder look is just plain stupid.

Maybe so, but at least it's better than this atrocity.

 

[Dream]

Yeah, the strapless/bare shoulder look is just plain stupid.

Maybe so, but at least it's better than this atrocity.

http://www.hostpic.org/images/1307141225570107.jpg

That's what WW wears when she goes out clubbing.

 

[Blamo]

^ Yeah, the strapless/bare shoulder look is just plain stupid.

The entirety of WW's costume looks stupid, even more so than the majority of other DC superheroes.