Warner Bros.’ first Wonder Woman movie would have looked very different if any of the early attempts at translating DC’s Diana Prince to the big screen had succeeded. Despite the character’s monumental impact on pop culture since her comic book debut in 1941 and her popular TV 1970s series starring Lynda Carter, it took Wonder Woman seventy-six years to star in her first live-action big-screen movie. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman made her on-screen debut in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before receiving her first starring role in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman.
Gadot’s Wonder Woman was one of the most consistent characters in the DCEU, though Wonder Woman 1984 failed to capture audiences, and Diana Prince’s cameos in Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash suggested the franchise was struggling to give her something important to do. The DCEU was rebooted, Wonder Woman 3 was canceled, and the search for a new Wonder Woman actor began. More than twenty years before, a similar search was underway at Warner Bros.
Several Hollywood Stars Were Reportedly Eyed To Play Wonder Woman In Unmade DC Movies
The Early-2000s’ Top Actresses Led The Wonder Woman Casting Conversation
Interest in a Wonder Woman movie began in the late 1990s, with filmmakers such as Ghostbusters writer Ivan Reitman and Predator producer Joel Silver circling the project. In 1999, Silver and Minority Report co-writer Jon Cohen signed on to develop Wonder Woman and reportedly set their sights on Sandra Bullock for the lead role, as reported by Variety. Rumors and fan-castings increased as the project changed hands, and even Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless addressed her chances in an interview with EW, saying that she’d like to play a “flawed” version of Wonder Woman.
Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman movie was one of the many projects that were written and rewritten in the early aughts, as the success of movies like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Bryan Singer’s X-Men, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins demonstrated the potential of superheroes on the big screen. The Avengers director Joss Whedon famously took on the project in 2005, and he later told EW that while he never started casting before the film was scrapped, he envisioned Wonder Woman as “basically Angelina Jolie.” Underworld star Kate Beckinsale also told Yahoo! she was aware of her casting rumors, but she wasn’t too excited about the possibility.
DC’s Canceled Wonder Woman Projects Prove Fan Castings Tend To Be Inaccurate
The Most Popular Fan-Cast Actors Aren’t Always The Ones Who Get The Role
Characters like Wonder Woman are naturally synonymous with the biggest names who could play them, be it an A-list star with years of Hollywood cred or a breakout actor. As soon as a Wonder Woman movie seemed possible in the late 1990s, it was logical for fans, producers, writers, and directors alike to imagine what stars like Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie would look like in the role. Even in the mid-2010s, few would have guessed a supporting actor from the Fast & Furious franchise would be cast as Wonder Woman instead of A-list fan-favorites like Megan Fox or Anne Hathaway.
Wonder Woman’s DCU actor might be one very few fans expect
After Gal Gadot left the role and a new Wonder Woman movie was announced by James Gunn, discussion about the next Diana Prince actor exploded, and various mid-2020s actors have been at the heart of the conversation. Scream‘s Melissa Barrera, Andor‘s Adria Arjona, Moon Knight‘s May Calamawy, 3 Body Problem‘s Eiza Gonzalez, and Mayfair Witches‘ Alexandra Daddario are some of the most popular candidates. However, Wonder Woman’s DCU actor might be one very few fans expect.
Warner Bros.’ Pre-DCEU Wonder Woman Movie Could Have Changed The Movie Landscape For DC
The First Canceled Wonder Woman Movies Would Have Affected The DCEU And The DCU
A Sandra Bullock- or Kate Beckinsale-led Wonder Woman movie could have gone one of many ways. A Wonder Woman movie not tied to any cinematic universe could have been a critical and commercial hit like Batman Begins and led to at least two sequels; it could have been a bomb that removed the character from Hollywood for years, like Catwoman or Green Lantern; or it could have been a serviceable DC movie that stood on its own. Regardless, DC’s pre-DCEU Wonder Woman movie would have probably delayed the DC Extended Universe, as plans for an interconnected franchise weren’t on the table in the early two-thousands.
