Though the DCEU hard-liners will argue for the most recent spat of DC adaptations, a large, even overwhelming contingency of audience members rememberBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceas an affront to those who enjoy movies, comic books, and comic book movies. There are plenty of reasons for this – a truly moronic script, bland aesthetic, risible self-seriousness, etc. – but one that’s flown under the radar for the most part is howGal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is presented. Her inclusion in the film felt engineered only to tease the character’s upcoming solo movie and made an already convoluted movie all the more cluttered, making the overall success ofWonder Womanall the more surprising.
During a recent press stop for the upcomingJustice League, Gadot made it clear that she’s aware of the problematic depiction of Wonder Woman inBatman v Supermanbut in a very different way. According to Gadot’s comments, which you’re able to read in full below, the idea thatZack Snyder’s movie latched onto about Wonder Woman not caring about humankind, especially toward the end of the film, was simply the wrong decision and that had to shift in the solo movie toward something more hopeful. She’s not wrong in this and if nothing else,Wonder Womansucceeded in employing a more empathetic and complex vision of the character. Let’s hope that’s also the character that shows up inJustice League.
Here’s Gadot’s direct quote viaThe Playlist:
“None of us knew exactly, exactly, the back story of Wonder Woman. And once they decided to shoot the solo movie for Wonder Woman and we started to dig in to understand the core of this character, we realized that, actually, there is no way that Wonder Woman would ever give up on mankind,”
“The reason why she left the island was because she wanted to make their lives better and safer—they are her calling. So, I’m giving you a very honest answer, but it was—sometimes in a creative process, you establish something that is not necessarily the right decision, but then you can always correct it and change it. So Wonder Woman will always be there, as far as she’s concerned, for mankind,”
