Yes it was a bombshell.
That hot chic from Fast and Furious is going to play Wonder Woman in the DC Cinematic Universe.
That girl whose biggest contribution to cinema so far is the bikini scene in Fast Five.
So is it genius or have WB made their biggest cock-up since casting Ben Affleck as Batman??? (jokes he’ll be good)
Gadot is set to appear as Princess Diana of Themiscyra in Zack Snyder’s Batman/Superman. It will be her second big screen outing after the Cobie Smulders voiced incarnation in The LEGO Movie.
Wonder Woman for the uninitiated is a central member of the Justice League as well a a pop-culture legend. An Amazon princess of the island of Themiscyra, Wonder Woman becomes a scantily clad superhero and fights crime with the Justice League using her famous lasso of truth, indestructible bracelets, and a boomerang tiara. In a 70’s TV show she was famously portrayed by Lynda Carter. Strangely however she has never made it to the big scree n despite the best efforts of Joss Whedon who later orchestrated the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She goes by the alter-ego Diana Prince and is considered by many to be a feminist icon.
The reactions have been varied to the announcement. Gal Who? is one of the most prominent although my reply to that would be who else? The only other name that actually got me excited was Jamie Alexander. The mentions of Olga Kurylenko among others were underwhelming.
So we begin with problem one – her size. The muscles on the comic book version are fairly unattainable. And despite the fact that perhaps Alexander and Kurylenko could have added more of a frame to Wonder Woman, we have to be realistic. Gal Gadot weighs in around 95 pounds she’s no heavyweight but I’m confident she can add the necessary touches to her physique in order to appear lithe and acrobatic. The thing is that the amount of work needed to attain the comic book physique cannot be achieved naturally. Naysayers must consider the fact Diana is something of a demigoddess in the comics and her physique is not human – it is illogical therefore to expect Gadot to mirror this frame.
My more pressing concern is her credibility as an actress. Forgive me but her Fast and Furious role while pretty kick-ass has no extraordinary acting demands. I am no sexist but her role verges on eye-candy. Gadot is a former Miss Israel, and obviously has the exotic good looks, but her film credits speak for themselves. This will be her first leading role – well maybe not in this film but certainly later on. Snyder and co. have not been averse to controversial decisions such as neck-braking and ‘Batffleck’ but both times I feel they have made the right choice. Gal Gadot must have done something pretty amazing in auditions to get this role and the confidence of the Batman/Superman team.
Wonder Woman is a very vaguely defined character who has undergone a lot more change than her male counterparts. This is a bonus for Gadot and Snyder who have a creative license to thresh out the character, her origins, her motivation. Diana is malleable enough to be hammered to fit Gadot, rather than the situation Ben Affleck finds himself in, fitting himself to the much more well-known Batman identity.
It should work. Snyder is a good director and knows what he wants. In this case that was Gal Gadot. Her role is likely to be minimal because there is the threat of overcrowding the 2015 blockbuster. Maybe a bit more than a cameo but certainly not a lead. She could even be the catalyst for the much hyped Batman vs. Superman showdown. Easing the inexperienced young actress in, perhaps even keeping his options open as far as replacing her goes, this seems like a more sensible route.
The explanation Themiscyra gets will be interesting as Thor seems to have taken the easiest explanation. How she ends up in America is another explanation which is necessary.
God forbid, we may even get a Twilight-esque love triangle between Supes, Bats, and Diana.
Stroke of genius or epic fail, it remains to be seen. But for now Gal Gadot IS Wonder Woman – get over it!
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