Hayley Atwell Calls Wonder Woman 'A Triumph'

Just in case it didn't have enough already, DC's solo Wonder Woman film has another noteworthy fan in Agent Carter star, Hayley Atwell. Coming from director Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman turned out to be the DCEU film that critics had been waiting for, and at the same time, offered one of the most beloved female characters in pop culture history her chance to finally shine in her own solo feature film. And to say that over the past two months Wonder Woman has managed to exceed the expectations - both critically and financially - of Warner Bros. and even longtime DC comic book readers, would be an understatement.

Not only is the film one of the highest-reviewed comic book movies of all time, but Wonder Woman has become the highest-grossing DCEU film ever, and the most successful film of this year's packed summer movie season. And with Warner Bros. just announcing a release date for Wonder Woman 2, with Jenkins expected to return to direct the sequel, it doesn't look like Diana's time in the sun will be going away anytime soon, thankfully.

Wonder Woman's success has left a notable footprint in the entertainment industry already as well, and while recently speaking with BuzzFeed's Jarett Wieselman, Hayley Atwell, another veteran comic book movie heroine, shared her thoughts on the film and why its success is so moving to see:

"I thought it was a triumph. I came out of that walking on air, and I think what's brilliant about is, it's a genre piece, it's a superhero movie, it's pitch-perfect from Gal's performance to the script to the music, it has just the right amount of tongue in cheek humor, it's engaging, and I was so surprised by the end of it. I thought, Here we go! 76 years in the making that's breaking box office records and it's led by a woman and it's directed by a woman - I was like, 'Patty! F–cking! Jenkins! YESSS!' And what it means for all of us because it's not just women are great; it's going, come on, let's represent who we really are as women. They did it beautifully. Not only did they pull it off, they just were like, Boom! They excelled."

Atwell is far from the first celebrity to express their love of the female-led superhero film over the past few months and isn't even the first Marvel star to share their support of it. Just recently, Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, called Wonder Woman his favorite film of 2017, while Black Panther's Lupita Nyong'o has been a vocal supporter of the film since its release date back at the start of June.

Wonder Woman is noteworthy not just because it's the character's first live-action feature film, but because it's the first standalone, female-led comic book movie to be released in the current, post-MCU superhero boom. And while Marvel has done a good job at introducing audiences to strong, independent female characters over the years - with Atwell's Peggy Carter at the forefront of that - the studio has yet to release a female-driven film. Fortunately, that's going to end in two years with the debut of the Brie Larson-led Captain Marvel, and if Wonder Woman's success is any indication of just how many fans and moviegoers will show up in droves to see a quality, female-led blockbuster film these days, then this could very well be the turning point in the entertainment industry that fans and insiders have been waiting years for.