20 facts you might not know about 'Wonder Woman'

The idea of a Wonder Woman movie began way back in 1996, with Ivan Reitman producing and possibly directing. Before the movie was finally made, several other people took a crack at it. Joss Whedon had a chance at it, for example. George Miller almost made a Justice League movie, which would have featured Wonder Woman making her big-screen debut. In the end, though, none of those projects happened.

Over the years, a lot of actresses were considered for the role of Wonder Woman. The first name way back in the day was Sandra Bullock. Lucy Lawless was another name in consideration. Kate Beckinsale was rumored for the role, and Whedon wanted Angelina Jolie. For Miller’s Justice League film, Megan Gale was cast, but obviously, that movie never happened.

Finally, DC and Warner Brothers got to work greenlighting a Wonder Woman movie in their burgeoning DC Universe. They landed on a director. That was, of course, Michelle MacLaren. Wait, what? Yes, before Patty Jenkins signed on to direct and finally helmed the picture, television veteran MacLaren was the choice. However, she left the project to “creative differences.”

Wonder Woman was the first lead appearance for the character, but it did not end up being her first big-screen appearance. Zack Snyder had already cast Diana for his movie Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. There, the choice had been Gal Gadot, who got the role over Olga Kurylenko and Elodie Yung.

Hippolyta is both the queen of the Amazons and mother of Princess Diana. In the movie, the role is ultimately played by Connie Nielsen. That being said, she was not the first choice. A couple bigger names were considered. Nicole Kidman was in discussions but had scheduling conflicts with Big Little Lies. Then, Charlize Theron was offered the role, but she turned it down.

Hey, sometimes you have to think outside the box to market your movie. NASCAR cars are driving billboards as is, so why not look that way? A Wonder Woman paint scheme was used on a car in two NASCAR races in 2017. The driver of that car? Why, Danica Patrick of course.

Several Arabic countries were not interested in showing Wonder Woman. Qatar and Lebanon banned it, while Tunisia and Jordan considered banning it as well. It was also pulled from a film festival in Algeria. It didn’t have anything to do with the movie’s content, but with the fact that Gadot had served in the Israeli military.

The Amazon home of Themyscira seems like paradise on Earth. Well, it’s a real place. Where they shot, that is. Not literal Themyscira. These scenes were shot on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, in case you are making vacation plans.

Jenkins hadn’t really worked in anything like Wonder Woman before. In fact, her only other feature film was Monster, which is decidedly different from the world of superheroes. Looking for inspiration on how to craft a superhero story of her own, Jenkins turned to Richard Donner’s Superman. That makes sense, as it’s also about a super-powered individual who doesn’t really understand human life at first.

Prior to these new DC movies, Wonder Woman’s greatest impact on culture was in her ‘70s TV show. There, Lynda Carter played Diana, while Lyle Waggoner played Steve Trevor. Jenkins had wanted them both for a cameo, but they were unfortunately both too busy. You know who does have a cameo, though? That would be Zack Snyder.

Originally, Diana and the Amazons were said to live on “Paradise Island.” This is where she hails from in the comics and in the ‘70s show. Then, in the 1980s, comic writer George Perez introduced the name of “Themyscira.” In the film, Trevor jokingly refers to Themyscira as “Paradise Island.”

We all know Diana Prince as Wonder Woman. That’s her superhero name from the comic and how she is known. In a more realistic world, the idea of somebody being called “Wonder Woman” is maybe a little odd. Well, the movie seems to agree. Diana is not actually called “Wonder Woman” at all in this film.

Pine ended up as Trevor, but other actors were in the running. That includes Liam Hemsworth and Alexander Skarsgard. If either of them had been cast, it could have led to some family rivalry. Hemsworth’s brother Chris is, of course, Thor in the MCU, and Skarsgard’s father Stellan has a role in the MCU as well.

Wonder Woman is a movie with literal gods in it. The villain is Ares, the Greek god of war. Almost all of it is fictional, either borrows from mythology or the comics. Then, there’s Danny Huston’s character Erich Ludendorff. He was a real German general during World War I.

We see child versions of Diana in the film enjoying life in Themyscira. The actress who plays her at around 12 is Emily Carey. Carey and Gadot actually have something in common beyond both playing an Amazon princess. They have the same birthday of April 30 as well.

As we mentioned, Steve Trevor dies in the movie. His memorial in the film borrows a lot from a photo of Eddie Rickenbacker, the famous World War I fighting ace. They even have the same squadron logo and have the same number on their plane.

You don’t want to mess with the Amazonian Artemis. This is true of the character, but also the woman who portrayed her. Jenkins wanted somebody who seemed legitimately tough and like a fighter, so she cast non-actor Ann Wolfe. Wolfe is one of the best female boxers of all-time, having retired with a career record of 24-1 with 16 knockouts.

Enthusiasm for a female-led superhero film was at a fever pitch by the time Wonder Woman hit theaters in 2017. While it proved polarizing at times, it made $822.3 million worldwide on a budget of somewhere between $120 and $150 million. It finished as the 10th-highest-grossing movie of the year.

The box office return of Wonder Woman did make some history. It became the highest-grossing film helmed by a solo female director. She still has the record for an American film, but Jenkins no longer has the worldwide record. The Chinese comedy Hi, Mom, which stars and is directed by Jia Ling, broke the record in 2021.

Wonder Woman was followed by a sequel Wonder Woman 1984. This is notable because the first film is a World War I movie, while the sequel is set in, well, 1984. Of course, since we saw Diana in Batman v. Superman, we know that’s she’s effectively immortal as an Amazon. The surprise was how they figured out how to get Chris Pine back as Steve Trevor, given that he dies in Wonder Woman.