Chris Pine On Why We Need Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman stars Chris Pine and Gal Gadot as well as director Patty Jenkins discuss why the superhero's story is important to tell. The titular superheroine of Jenkins' first entry within Warner Bros' DC Extended Universe initially debuted last spring in Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. An established Diana Prince (Gadot) teamed up with Superman (Henry Cavill) and Batman (Ben Affleck) to take on Doomsday, and she'll return later this year in Snyder's Batman V Superman followup, Justice League. But first, Wonder Woman will tell the origin story of Diana, as she grows up on Themyscira and travels to the human world, with Steve Trevor (Pine) as her guide/love interest.

With the latest DCEU installment less than a week away from hitting theaters, fans are eagerly anticipating its arrival, and the early reactions to Wonder Woman bode well for its official debut. The red carpet world premiere of Wonder Woman was held this week, attended by Pine, Gadot, and Jenkins, all of whom spoke about the importance of Diana Prince's first solo live-action movie.

Vanity Fair interviewed the stars and director of Wonder Woman at the premiere, and Pine took the chance to speak to the themes of the film, especially the importance of compassion and love:

We’ve seen stories told through the male prism a lot. Men are not all that smart. We tend to want to kill each other all the time, so it’s nice to finally have a fresh, female perspective with important themes. To have a female superhero story that is about love and compassion and nurturing of life than the opposite is very important. At the heart of the movie, it’s about people falling in love and being passionate and being heroic. It’s a great lesson for everyone to learn instead of other movies where shit is blowing up all the time.

Pine also brings up the fact that Wonder Woman marks an important milestone in the current Hollywood landscape as the first female-led comic book adaptation to hit theaters in over a decade - since Catwoman and Elektra in the mid '00s - and the first blockbuster-budget superhero film to be directed by a woman. As Pine points out, the creative team on Wonder Woman made sure the film had a fresh perspective, thanks in part to Diana's nature as a hero. Jenkins also spoke to Vanity Fair about how the character of Wonder Woman is different from other superheroes:

The world needs all different kinds of superheroes, especially one like Wonder Woman. She teaches love and the belief in a better mankind. That’s the interesting thing. Her versus the other superheroes, she chose to fight for peace. She chose to spend her life to help others, and that’s empowering. She’s the one who took control of her life. She comes into this world and realizes that it’s hard and complicated and difficult, but worth it because she knows it’s her mission. We are seeing this for the first time on the big screen in that way.

Speaking to the importance of the character and the movie, Gadot told Vanity Fair, "It’s so important to have strong female figures, and I hope Wonder Woman will show people that women are equal to men." The debut of Jenkins' film is a joyous occasion for fans of the superheroine, who was first introduced 76 years ago on the pages of DC Comics. In honor of the latest DCEU installment, theater chain Alamo Drafthouse is hosting women-only screenings of Wonder Woman, which drew some criticism among men unable to attend. Still, Wonder Woman is undoubtedly a momentous moment for Hollywood and the film will soon hit theaters, giving fans everywhere a chance to experience Diana's story.