Taglines: Wonder. Power. Courage.
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers and her true destiny.
Wonder Woman is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the fourth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by Patty Jenkins, with a screenplay by Allan Heinberg, from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, and Jason Fuchs, and stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, alongside Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, and Elena Anaya.
Wonder Woman is the second live action theatrical film featuring the titular character, following her debut in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Jenkins’s role as director makes her the first female director of a live-action, theatrically released comic book superhero film. The film tells the story of Diana Prince, who grows up on the Amazon island of Themyscira. After American pilot Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes offshore of the island and is rescued by her, he tells the Amazons about the ongoing World War. Diana then leaves her home in order to end the conflict.
Production began on November 21, 2015, under the working title Nightingale. Among the film sets were Lower Halstow, Kent, Australia House, and the Sassi di Matera, Castel del Monte and Camerota in Southern Italy. Matthew Jensen was the director of photography, filming in the United Kingdom, France and Italy. Production in London ended on March 13, 2016.
On March 20, 2016, filming was underway in Italy. In late April, filming took place at a museum in France, where a Wayne Enterprises truck was spotted alongside Gadot. Production ended on May 9, 2016. Patty Jenkins and director of photography Matt Jensen revealed that the film’s look was inspired by painter John Singer Sargent. Reshoots took place in November 2016, while Gadot was five months pregnant. A green cloth was placed over her stomach to edit out her pregnancy during post-production.
Wonder Woman grossed $412.6 million in the United States and Canada and $409.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $821.9 million, against a production budget of $149 million. Estimates for the number the film needed to surpass internationally in order to cover its production and promotional costs and break even ranged from $300 million to $460 million.
About the Story
In the opening scene in modern day Paris, France, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) visits the Louvre as a van from Wayne Enterprises pulls up. She receives a briefcase sent by Bruce Wayne. Inside is an old photograph of Diana alongside four men during World War I. With the picture is a note from Bruce saying he would like to hear the story behind the picture.
As a child, Diana (played by Lilly Aspell) grew up on the island of Themyscira alongside the mighty Amazons, an all-female warrior clan. She watches the warriors training on the field under General Antiope (Robin Wright). Diana wants to be a fighter like the rest of the Amazons, but her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) forbids her daughter from training.
Hippolyta takes Diana and tells her the story about the gods. Zeus ruled over the heavens and looked upon mankind with high regards, but Ares, the god of war, sought to corrupt mankind and lead them to tear each other apart in battle. The other gods fought back against Ares, but he killed all of them. With his dying breaths, Zeus cast Ares down into the world of man and then forged a weapon that can destroy Ares once and for all. He also gave the Amazons their home on Themyscira to hide them from the rest of the world. Hippolyta shows Diana the powerful sword known as the God Killer. With it, Ares can be killed, but Hippolyta hopes there will not come a time for Diana or anyone else to wield it.
Antiope convinces Hippolyta to let her train Diana, wanting her to be ready to face Ares, because they all know he’s still out there. Hippolyta reluctantly agrees. Through the years, Antiope subjects Diana to harsh and intense training in the field. As she reaches adulthood, Diana continues training to be as fierce as the other Amazons. During one session, Antiope pushes Diana hard with her swordplay, leading Diana to defend herself by deflecting the sword with her gauntlets. This causes Antiope to fly back and hurt herself. Diana shows great remorse for hurting Antiope. She leaves in shame, but Antiope is far from upset.
Diana runs over to a cliff. In the distance, a plane passes through the barrier into Themyscira before crashing into the ocean. Diana dives into the water and swims toward the plane. A pilot named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) is sinking as he cannot break himself free from his seat. Diana pulls him out of the plane and takes him to shore. As she becomes surprised to see a man for the first time, German soldiers following Steve make it past the barrier as well.
The Amazons arrive as they find Diana with Steve, but also see the Germans. The Amazons ready their arrows, and the Germans aim their rifles. The arrows are launched and shots are fired. The Germans make it to the shore and battle the Amazons. Several Amazons are shot dead while the Germans get taken out easily. Antiope fires three arrows at once to kill three soldiers. One soldier aims his gun at Diana, and Antiope leaps in to take the shot. Diana rushes to Antiope’s side. As she dies, she tells Diana it is her time to wield the God Killer.
Steve is interrogated before all the Amazons with the Lasso of Truth. He is forced to confess that he is a spy with the Allied forces. Steve explains to the Amazons about World War I and how he has learned of a sinister plan by Germany’s General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and his chief chemist Dr. Isabel Maru, AKA Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya).
They are concocting a new bio-weapon, which Steve claims is unlike anything he’s seen before and tells the Amazons they are in more danger than they realize. Steve acted as a spy in the German army before stealing Maru’s notebook and flying away with it as he destroyed the Germans’ other planes until they followed him to the island. Diana realizes this must be the work of Ares.
Steve is allowed to bathe in the Amazons’ fountain to replenish himself. Diana walks in and accidentally sees him nude. She asks what “that” is, and Steve says it is his father’s watch, which he says he follows to let him know what to do in the day. Diana is confused by the device and its uses.
Still fearing that Ares is behind the ongoing war, Diana grabs her shield, lasso, and then takes the God Killer sword from its holding, along with her battle suit. She goes to tell Steve she will help him get home if he takes her to Ares. The two head for the shore but are approached by Hippolyta and other Amazons. Diana is insistent that she goes out there to stop Ares and end the war. Hippolya tearfully embraces her daughter one last time and tells her she has always been her greatest love, but today she is her greatest sorrow. As Diana and Steve depart, Hippolyta confides to an Amazon that Diana can’t know what she really is, or else Ares will find her faster.
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Wonder Woman (2017)
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Lucy Davis, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, David Thewlis, Emily Carey, Brooke Ence, Jemma Moore, Hayley Warnes
Screenplay by: Allan Heinberg, Geoff Johns
Production Design by: Aline Bonetto
Cinematography by: Matthew Jensen
Film Editing by: Martin Walsh
Costume Design by: Lindy Hemming
Set Decoration by: Anna Lynch-Robinson, Janice Macrae
Art Direction by: Steve Carter, James Collins, Phil Harvey, Dominic Hyman
Music by: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: June 7, 2017
