I love 'Wonder Woman.' I love everything about 'Wonder Woman.' She's an Amazon, she's beautiful, she's tough, she's moral, she's dating Superman, and she kills evil things. Wonder Woman is literally the perfect fictional woman. Growing up as a geek, Wonder Woman was my favorite fictional role model, not Barbie. A fan-made short film by Rainfall Films reminded me just how badly we need a 'Wonder Woman' movie. It also made me ask myself why have we not seen anything Wonder Woman-esque since Linda Carter? Mind you Carter donned the skintight leotard in the late 70's. In tv and movie land, that...was...a...long...time...ago.
First there was 'Smallville,' then 'Arrow. Now 'The Flash' is getting a tv series. Huh? To be fair 'Boston Legal' producer David E. Kelley did try to bring a 'Wonder Woman' series to the small screen in 2011. But Kelley wasn't a comic book fan. His 'Wonder Woman' was uncharacteristically campy and quickly cancelled. The CW announced it was developing a 'Wonder Woman' series called 'Amazon,' but like the others the series never came to fruition.
Joss Whedon tried his hand at a 'Wonder Woman' feature film in the mid-2000s, but DC never even returned his phone calls. After the second small screen attempt failed, Whedon explained that 'Wonder Woman' is just too "epic" for the small screen. I know that Whedon meant well and Whedon is no stranger to strong female characters, but I have to disagree. Isn't 'Superman' the definition of "epic?" Somehow 'Smallville' found an audience. And even if Whedon is correct and 'Wonder Woman' is too epic for the small screen, then why hasn't there been a 'Wonder Woman' movie?
Fan-made short film by Rainfall
There have been not one, but two mediocre 'Superman' films over the last decade, an awful adaption of 'Green Lantern,' and an atrocious 'Cat Woman' movie (I limit the list to the DC Universe, as the Marvel Universe is a different animal). So I really don't understand why there hasn't been a 'Wonder Woman' film or tv series.
I got into a debate with another poster on a message board on this topic. The person I was debating claimed that 'Wonder Woman' didn't have the brand recognition that 'Superman' and 'Batman' have. And to that I say: Are you kidding me? 'Wonder Woman' is one of the big three: 'Superman,' 'Batman,' and 'Wonder Woman.' There has even been a love triangle between the three at some point. I would argue that 'Wonder Woman' has more brand recognition than 'Cat Woman,' the 'Green Lantern,' 'The Green Arrow,' or 'The Flash.' Yet two of the four have already had films made about them. 'The Flash' series is in development.
No one can convince me that 'Wonder Woman' doesn't have the brand recognition to carry a film or a tv series. No one.