WONDER WOMAN
AFTER A 75-YEAR WAIT, A WONDER WOMAN MOVIE IS FINALLY UPON US, MATTHEW LEYLAND VISITS THE SUPERHEROIC SET...
“This doesn’t have to follow some blueprint”
Leavesden studios, february 2016. A stone’s throw from the making of harry potter studio tour, another fantasy icon is being brought to cinematic life. And not before time: threequarters of a century after her comic-book debut, wonder woman is finally getting her own movie. And she’s set to dazzle – literally. “the highlight so far?” says director patty Jenkins, settling on to a stool while the next shot is prepped. “there’ve been so many, but really, truly, it’s seeing [lead actor] Gal Gadot walk on to the screen in full wonder woman costume, shot beautifully and grandly. And she just turns around and she looks incredible, and the lights shine… those are the supernatural moments.”
today, however, the only part of the Amazonian armour that’s visible is the tiara. Gadot is swathed in a midnight-blue cloak for a scene that appears to be one of the film’s emotional flashpoints. we’re on the (green-screened) shores of wonder woman’s all-female homeland themyscira, where there’s a hushed but intense head-to-head going on between our heroine and her mother Queen hippolyta (connie nielsen). world war i airman steve trevor (chris pine), who’s wormholed his way to the mythical locale, looks on – as do some exceedingly professional horses (chaperoned by a man in a lime-coloured onesie).
ORIGIN STORY
As the setting suggests, Wonder Woman will take us back to the title character’s roots, following her 100-years-hence debut in 2016’s
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Being able to do the time warp is one more reason Jenkins (best known for 2003’s Monster) is so stoked to be directing. “i’m a huge fan of wonder woman, a huge fan of great superhero movies and a huge fan of origin stories,” she enthuses, as a horse does a rehearsal trot up a long ramp. “so all of these things have collided.” like wonders, Jenkins has been waiting a while for this moment. “i’ve wanted to do this movie for a long time,” she explains. “i’ve been talking to [warner/dc] off and on for eight, nine years.”
when she finally got the gig, she found herself signing up not just for a solo movie, but an entire cinematic universe – one with multiple gatekeepers. “this is a very wonderful, collaborative group of people,” she says. “At dc comics, they really care about everybody understanding what the other filmmakers are doing – that everybody is making really strong movies and stories; that every character has strong movies and stories of their own. so we’ve all been very in sync in that way.” But is it a challenge, trying to create something fresh and standalone, while being sandwiched into a well-established megafranchise? “it would be if i didn’t already love that universe,” Jenkins responds. “i love superman and i love Batman. so for me, this is my jam. i feel like these superheroes stand for things i really want to live with. it would be hard if i was having to lean towards something that i didn’t already really love and believe in.”
As it happens, Wonder Woman’s timeframe allows for plenty of wriggle room, particularly when it comes to characterisation. “that universe [the present day of Batman V
Superman] is where it is, but i’m going back to the origin story,” Jenkins says. “so there are two separate things going on. there’s who my character will become, but also who this character was in this world war i storyline, of which Zack [snyder] and warner Bros have
been nothing but wonderfully supportive, [saying] ‘this should be its own movie. this doesn’t have to follow some blueprint.’”
that said, Jenkins is happy to admit the influence of several key players in wonder woman’s storied history. “i’ve taken a lot of cues from william moulton marston,” she says, referencing the psychologist-slash-inventor(he had a big hand in the development of the lie detector)-slash-comic book writer who broke ground with the creation of a superheroine who hailed from a world of women and helped sort out the nazis. “i’ve thought a lot about marston, and about what [the character] originally stood for, what she meant,” reveals Jenkins.
PAST GLORIES
And then there’s the small-screen version of wonder woman, who continues to loom large in the memories of ’70s tv watchers. “lynda carter meant a lot to me growing up,” says Jenkins. “i think she was such a beautiful embodiment of wonder woman: kind, good, beautiful, sexy, strong, moral, all of those things. i think she was so wonderful.” she’s also now a close personal pal. “she and i became friendly very early on in this process,” says Jenkins. “i’ve gotten to talk to her often and learned a lot.”
Another major inspiration? her own leading lady. “Gal Gadot, really, truly… she is wonder woman,” smiles Jenkins. “i mean, in the same way that lynda is wonder woman as a person, so is Gal. they’re both utterly kind, incredibly strong people.” Gadot certainly seems to have made Jenkins’ job easier: “i’ve said so many times, ‘Gal, in the worst-case scenario, just be yourself – because you really are so true to the spirit of this character.’” that much is apparent from the scene SFX sees being shot: though there’s no lassoing, sword-ing or bulletbouncing, Gadot essays a mix of conviction, command and compassion befitting a demigoddess-cum-superhero. And she gives good banter, too.