When Warner Bros. and DC announced that the companies would team up for a standalone Wonder Woman movie, the pressure was on.
For Wonder Woman's first solo adventure on the big screen, both companies understood the need to get it right. Not only did the decision to include the character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice play into that pressure, but Warner Bros. also decided that the solo film would need the right director, Patty Jenkins.
Gal Gadot, who stars as the Amazonian princess on the big screen, recently told Entertainment Weekly that this decision was possibly the most important of all in bringing Diana's tale to theaters. Gadot also agreed that the only person right for the job of taking on such a challenge was a woman.
"It's a story about a girl becoming a woman," Gadot said. "I think only a woman, who has been a girl, can be able to tell the story in the right way."
Gadot also spoke about how Jenkins brings an emotional connection to the character, something she feels that a fellow woman understands. This is partly why it took so long for someone to bring the character to life in a live-action movie.
"For a long time, people didn't know how to approach the story," Gadot said. "When Patty and I had our creative conversations about the character, we realized that Diana can still be a normal woman, one with very high values, but still a woman. She can be sensitive. She is smart and independent and emotional. She can be confused. She can lose her confidence. She can have confidence. She is everything. She has a human heart."
Although Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received a lot of negative criticism, most moviegoers still agreed that Gadot shone in the role of Wonder Woman. Now, she'll have to carry that charisma into a movie she's starring in, although it seems like Diana is in very good hands. Gadot understands that Wonder Woman is a superhero for both boys and girls, but it's especially important for girls to see her on the big screen.
"I feel that I've got the opportunity to set a great role model for girls to look up to a strong, active, compassionate, loving, positive woman and I think it's so important," Gadot said. "It's about time that somebody will do that and I'm very privileged and honored to be the one."
Wonder Woman hits theaters on June 2, 2017.
