Lynda Carter's Hopes For Big Screen Wonder Woman

Iconic ‘Wonder Woman’ TV actress Lynda Carter says she hopes the upcoming movie take on the character retains the character’s “heart” and “sense of humour.”

Carter, who played the character for three seasons in the 1970s, was among the first to publicly applaud the casting of Gal Gadot in 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice' - and it has since been confirmed (not that there was too much doubt) that Gadot will reprise the role in a ‘Wonder Woman’ solo movie in 2017, to be followed by the first of two ‘Justice League’ movies later that same year.

As welcome as a new female-fronted superhero movie will be, there remain concerns that the tone of the Warner Bros/DC movies in the wake of the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy and ‘Man of Steel’ is a bit grimmer than it perhaps should be - and nothing thus far indicates that ‘Batman V Superman’ will be any more upbeat.

This being the case, when Carter tells Vulture that she hopes the new take on the character will still have the upbeat qualities of old, it’s hard not to see this as somewhat wishful thinking.

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The 63-year old actress says, “Wonder Woman is about a lot more than just superhero stuff. She’s complicated. Ultimately, she’s about truth, and it’s all heart with her. She’s a strong female force.”

Asked for her opinion on why it’s taken this long for Wonder Woman to make it to the big screen, Carter suggests, “I think females baffle men, and so, that’s made it difficult to get a Wonder Woman movie made.

"She’s strong, but she’s so much more — not everybody gets that … Most important, I want her to have a heart and a strong sense of humor.”

There has certainly been an overriding sense that, prior to Gal Gadot’s casting, those working on Wonder Woman over the years haven’t quite been able to figure the character out.

Infamously, a pre-‘Avengers’ Joss Whedon was attached to write and direct a ‘Wonder Woman’ feature in the 2000s, but parted ways with the studio over his vision of the character.

Then in 2011, Adrianne Palicki was cast in a TV pilot episode for NBC scripted by ‘Ally McBeal’ creator David E Kelley - which proved to be a disaster.

Some fans are less than optimistic about Wonder Woman’s chances now, partly due to fears that Gal Gadot was miscast, and partly given the aforementioned downbeat direction the fledgling DC Cinematic Universe seems to be taking under main writer David S Goyer.

On top of which, Goyer’s comments about She-Hulk this past May resulted in widespread accusations of sexism; not quite what we want from someone at least partly responsible for bringing the first superheroine to the screen (although there has been no mention yet of whether Goyer might script the ‘Wonder Woman’ solo movie).

As the only actress to really succeed in bringing Wonder Woman to life on screen, with a balance of tongue-in-cheek humour and old fashioned heroic spirit, Carter’s word on the matter still counts for a great deal.

That said, I’m not sure I completely believe her when she laughs off Vulture’s suggestion that Wonder Woman might have some kinky tendencies (“I don’t see her into bondage”).

Read up a bit on Wonder Woman’s creator, psychologist-turned-writer William Marston (also inventor of the polygraph machine, trivia fans) and it soon becomes clear that the overtones of S&M to Wonder Woman’s persona and costume (boots, cuff, whip) are far from accidental…

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Picture Credit: WENN, Warner Bros/DC