Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman

Now that Wonder Woman is set to make her first ever live-action feature film appearance in next year's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, I was wondering (pun not intended) if their had ever been a Wonder Woman film in the works before. And to my surprise, their have actually been a few, one of which was set to be directed by none other than Joss Whedon.

From Wikipedia...

In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film adaptation of Wonder Woman.[61] Whedon's salary was reported to be between $2 to $3 million.[62] Since Whedon was directing Serenity at the time, and required time to research Wonder Woman's background, he did not begin the screenplay until late 2005.[63] According to Joel Silver, the script would cover Wonder Woman's origin and include Steve Trevor: "Trevor crashes on the island and they go back to Man's World."[64] Silver wanted to film Wonder Woman in Australia once the script was completed.[65] While Whedon stated in May 2005 that he would not cast Wonder Woman until he finished the script,[66] Charisma Carpenter[67] and Morena Baccarin[68] expressed interest in the role. In 2006, a wide section of media reported that Priyanka Chopra was in talks to portray Wonder Woman in the film adaptation by Joss Whedon.[69]

After nearly two years as script-writer, Whedon had not managed to write a finished draft. "It was in an outline, and not in a draft, and they [studio executives] didn't like it. So I never got to write a draft where I got to work out exactly what I wanted to do."[70] In February 2007, Whedon departed from the project, citing script differences with the studio.[71] Whedon reiterated: "I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistent front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air balling on the script." Whedon stated that with the Wonder Woman project left behind, he would focus on making his film Goners.[71]
"I would go back in a heartbeat if I believed that anybody believed in what I was doing. The lack of enthusiasm was overwhelming."
So, what if some things had been different and Whedon had better luck writing the script and got some more support from WB. A Wonder Woman film ends up getting made and released sometime from 2007-2010. For the purpose of the discussion, we'll say it's a stand-alone film with the potential for sequels but not part of any grand DC Cinematic Universe like they're working on now.

What do you think the film would actually end up looking like? Who would get cast as Wonder Woman and the other main characters? What are the odds the film is actually a success? How might it impact the superhero/comic book film genre and the idea of superheroines on screen? Also, how would this impact Whedon's work with the MCU?

Thoughts? Ideas?
 
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Well, the current war between the comic book Cinematic Universes probably won't be as one-sided in Marvel's favor as OTL.
 
I know that this is going to sound incredible, but I really "wonder". Joss Whedon has a history of creatively creating sound YOUNG super heroines, but he seems to have a problem sometimes with female hangers on. (1) Frex, if he did Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, I'm sure SHE would be fine, and probably Wonder Girl/Druscilla Troy. But don't be surprised if you saw Paradise Island getting nuked!:eek:

1) Yeah, I know Buffy had her friend Allyson Hannigan/Willow, but Willow saw her lover shot dead (WTF?), only to be replaced by a drip. And while her father simply abandoned Buffy, her much more loyal mother was killed outright, then turned into a zombie:eek:

With all those "slap in the face" battle sequences, I have to believe that there was something ugly going on in Whedon's head.

one thoroughly disgruntled Amber Benson fan:mad:
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Then Wonder Woman would be a snarky, spunky, sarcastic and pretty cool, surrounded by snarky, spunky, sarcastic and pretty cool people.
 
1) Yeah, I know Buffy had her friend Allyson Hannigan/Willow, but Willow saw her lover shot dead (WTF?), only to be replaced by a drip. And while her father simply abandoned Buffy, her much more loyal mother was killed outright, then turned into a zombie:eek:

one thoroughly disgruntled Amber Benson fan:mad:

I felt exactly the same :mad: It didn't help that Tara had grown as a character between her introduction and when she got shot, it wasn't like she'd stayed one-note. She'd started out as the shy person in the corner, but by Season 6...OK, she wasn't as powerful as Willow, but she was definitely a stronger character, I liked the maternal dynamic she developed with the others in the group, like with Dawn, and she'd generally become more confident. She wasn't just 'Willow's girlfriend', or even mostly - her character had grown legs. And then Whedon decides 'Ah feck that jazz'...

OK, I'm done now :eek:
 
In my opinion, one of the really missed opportunities for DC Comics/Warner Brothers was the possibility of doing a Wonder Woman movie in the early 1990's using the continuity that George Pérez created in 1986-1991. And they would have probably found an actress that would have fit the role perfectly: Lucy Lawless, who had the height and physical build to pull off a convincing-looking Wonder Woman in the early 1990's, which may end up butterflying off the Xena: Warrior Princess TV series project.
 
In my opinion, one of the really missed opportunities for DC Comics/Warner Brothers was the possibility of doing a Wonder Woman movie in the early 1990's using the continuity that George Pérez created in 1986-1991. And they would have probably found an actress that would have fit the role perfectly: Lucy Lawless, who had the height and physical build to pull off a convincing-looking Wonder Woman in the early 1990's, which may end up butterflying off the Xena: Warrior Princess TV series project.

At the time she was cast for the part in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Lucy Lawless was a miner and sometime set hand. What happened what that during filming in the town she had been living in, the woman originally cast for the part (Claudia Black, of Farscape fame!) had come down with a bad case of dysentery and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Sam Raimi and company were in dire straits, and Lucy came up and read for the for the newly opened part on a dare. The rest is history.

In the Early Nineties, if they deemed Lynda Carter too old to reprise the part, the most likely replacement would have been Linda Fiorentino.
 
So, what if some things had been different and Whedon had better luck writing the script and got some more support from WB. A Wonder Woman film ends up getting made and released sometime from 2007-2010. For the purpose of the discussion, we'll say it's a stand-alone film with the potential for sequels but not part of any grand DC Cinematic Universe like they're working on now.

I don't think the DCCU would be an issue anyway. The Nolan movies were distinctly set in a mundane world where Batman was the first and only hero, and the Joker was novel for being the world's first supervillain (Scarecrow being more a gimmicky mask for a drug dealer). 2006 would've seen Superman Returns fizzle out. There wasn't much of a DCCU to riff on yet.

Although Superman Returns will likely lead to one change to Whedon's script. Given how the WB seems to overcompensate when they find fault with a superhero movie — like how 2011's Green Lantern film supposedly led to a "no laughs, no humor" rule for the DCCU — the overt homages to previous Superman films might lead the WB to forbid Whedon from making any nods to the 1970s Wonder Woman TV show. It's hard to judge how big of a snag that might cause for Whedon considering there's no scripts to judge. We could riff on a fan script or something, but the devil is often in the details.

If the WW movie comes out in 2008, that'll put it up along Iron Man 1 and The Dark Knight. Pretty good company to keep, if it can feed off the buzz for the two real breakthrough films for the genre. 2009 might work better. It'd be the only DC film out there, and it'd be going up against Wolverine: Origins in the inevitable yet unfair head-to-head box office comparisons.
 
If successful, it might put a dent in the "grimdark" DCU. It will likely be too late to butterfly away the damage from the DiDio era, but it can get rid of a lot.
 
Well Wonder Woman's grand tradition of beins successfully helmed by a deeply involved guy who is a bit of a pervert would certainly be carried on.
 
I don't agree with the Whedon hate but I do agree he would always have struggled with Wonder Woman - she is, for want of a better word, too mature. This isn't a criticism, just that Whedon's skills and interests lie with younger heriones and growing up narratives.

He'd have delivered a very interesting Supergirl or Batgirl.
 
Charisma Carpenter as WW.... well, she does kinda look the part. I don't think any actress I've seen though, is as perfect for the part as Lynda Carter was...
 
If memory serves, Whedon planned on casting Cobie Smoulders as WW. Not the worst choice in the world, although I can think of better ideas. As for the movie itself, I think it would have been good and well-received. Not nearly as successful as The Avengers, but still a solid money-maker for DC and WB.
 
Can Whedon write characters any other way ?

Based on his history, probably not. He's like a kid who wants a kitten for a pet, but loses interest when it grows up to be a cat.

I don't agree with the Whedon hate but I do agree he would always have struggled with Wonder Woman - she is, for want of a better word, too mature. This isn't a criticism, just that Whedon's skills and interests lie with younger heriones and growing up narratives.

He'd have delivered a very interesting Supergirl or Batgirl.

Agreed. Better yet, how about Power Pack?:p
 
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