Wonder Woman's winding journey to the big screen seemed to be going nowhere for a long time. The character was introduced just three years after Superman first appeared in Action Comics, but it would take her almost seven decades longer to get her own feature film. When Wonder Woman finally hit theaters in 2017 the film became a record-breaking hit. Not only was it the first major superhero film to feature a female lead, it also ended up becoming the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman. Wonder Woman had a profound impact on audiences; female viewers were even moved to tears by the film's unprecedented fight scenes. The reaction to the film was a clear indication that Wonder Woman's arrival in cinemas was long overdue.
The warm reception to the film sealed the deal for a potential sequel. Reports have already been coming in about the cast and crew shooting in various locations throughout the summer. For Wonder Woman 1984, director Patty Jenkins has once again teamed up with leading lady Gal Gadot along with a slew of other famous faces. Judging from the title and the photos posted by Jenkins, the movie makes a 70 year jump forward in time and may tackle some Orwellian themes.
While we wait for Gadot's return to cinemas, let us take a look back at what happened during the making of Wonder Woman. From secret pregnancies to crafty editing and exotic locations, the production of Wonder Woman was ripe with unexpected challenges.
Here are 25 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of Wonder Woman.
Gal Gadot wasn't always Wonder Woman
Without the 2007-08 writer's strike, Wonder Woman could have ended up looking very different. The titular heroine was in fact set to make her cinematic debut in George Miller's Justice League Mortal.
Mad Max: Fury Road star Megan Gale was cast in the part of Diana Prince in Miller's film and she could have ended up being the modern face of the Wonder Woman-franchise. Alas, the film fell through and viewers were never treated to Gale's interpretation of the Princess of Themyscira. Photographer Mark Rogers has since then released photos of Gale in her costume as a minor consolation to fans who are still holding out for an Australian Wonder Woman.
Gal Gadot Kept Her Pregnancy A Secret
Gadot had to deal with more than just the pressure of playing the first female lead in a superhero movie. She also became pregnant with her second child towards the end of filming Wonder Woman.
In the vein of her relentless character, the actress refused to let this affect her performance.
Gadot actually hid her pregnancy from her co-workers because she did not want to be treated differently on set. With the help of ginger water and a big pair of sunglasses she managed to keep her pregnancy under wraps.
No Man's Land was almost cut
An iconic scene takes place in the film's second half. Diana Prince steps into No Man’s land, the area between the opposing trenches of World War I, in a scene that depicts her transformation into Wonder Woman.
The scene quickly became one of the film's most memorable moments. But before it made its way to audiences, Jenkins had a hard time convincing her colleagues of its importance. The director even storyboarded the scene herself to get her message across. She eventually triumphed, and the film was all the better for it.
Wonder Woman Filmed In The Wizarding World
Being a period piece, many historic locations make an appearance in Wonder Woman.
The movie visits beautiful sights, including King's Cross Station, Sicilian Avenue, and Australia House.
Australia House, which houses the High Commission of Australia, is more readily recognized for another Warner Bros. hit. The venue is in fact used as a location in the Harry Potter-films where is poses as Gringotts Wizarding Bank. In Wonder Woman, the space is used for a scene where Diana Prince goes shopping for less conspicuous clothing.
The Amazon were played by Female Athletes
Jenkins decided that she wanted all types of female strength to be represented among the Amazon warriors when she developed her vision of Themyscira. The director cast a selection of different athletes, ranging from an Olympic bobsledder to a professional boxer, to fill the roles. The women trained together in London for several weeks, where they learned swordplay and stunt choreography.
American Cross-fit champion Brooke Ence expressed excitement over the environment in the training area. “It’s just women wrestling other women, kickboxing, doing pull-ups and practicing with spears — just a lot of stuff that in the real world is very male-dominated,” she told a journalist from Entertainment Weekly.
Why the movie contradicts Batman v Superman
Wonder Woman entered the DC's cinematic universe in Batman v. Superman before she got a film of her own. In this initial iteration, the superheroine comes across as much more cynical than she appears in her own picture. Gadot has explained that they needed to rethink the character for Wonder Woman.
When they examined the source material, they decided that she would never give up on mankind.
Wonder Woman would have a much more hopeful outlook. Highlighting Diana's goodhearted nature resonated with audiences and was a successful adjustment.
Wonder Woman ran on a treadmill
Wonder Woman may seem like the pinnacle of perfection, but even she has her weak spots. And for Gal Gadot, that weak spot is what she looks like when she storms forward.
Westenhofer revealed in an interview that Gadot is self-confident about her running. They discovered during production, however, that she ran with more confidence when she was on a treadmill. So for the scene in No Man’s Land, full body shots of Gadot running were taken in a studio in front of a green screen.
The Amazon Costumes Had A Major Drawback
The Amazon warriors look fierce and fearless when they are all suited up, but despite their powerful appearance, the actresses who played them still had one delicate challenge on set.
Mayling Ng, one of the film's Amazons, has revealed that the costumes they wore were extremely impractical when they needed a bathroom break.
In an Instagram post, she listed up every step she had to go through to get out of her armor. The process included unwrapping the bands around her hands and undoing a corset.
The Cast and crew's Italian vacation
47 different countries were considered when Jenkins searched for a place to film the Amazonian homeland of Themyscira. In the end, she decided on several spots along the Italian coastline. The cast and crew seem to have been thrilled by this choice. After all, it meant that they would be getting a bonus trip to Southern Italy.
It probably did not hurt that most of their time there was spent at the four-star resort Happy Village. A beach view and spa facility certainly beats the amenities of most movie-set trailers.
Diana's Heels Were Edited In
The iconic scene in No Man's Land did not just edit out a treadmill, it also edited in something else. An interview with Gadot from the Warner Bros. studios in Leavesden uncovered that the actress wore trainers for some of the takes.
With the help of a little CGI magic, her running shoes were transformed into wedged boots for the finished product.
Her boots were not the only digital addition to this sequence. While filming on location in London, the heroine only had a sword handle to work with. The blade of the God Killer was added in later.
Gal Gadot Had to Wear Her Costume In the Freezing Cold
Several of the film's collaborators have commended Gadot for her positive attitude and seemingly endless supply of energy. Jensen has said that he would be dressed in layers upon layers while they were filming in Italy, but that Gadot never complained about working in the Wonder Woman costume.
Temperatures would even creep to 30 below when they were filming in the trenches outside London. The actress was kept warm in between takes, but she still had to stay in costume while they were shooting. She did admit that the experience was cold, but from all accounts she braved the temperature like a trooper.
Gal Gadot And Chris Pine Improvised The Boat Scene
Wonder Woman is often intense and heartfelt, but it also has moments of levity. A particularly humorous moment occurs between Diana and Steve when they are on the boat to London. Diana tells the young military pilot about her immaculate conception and divine origins and he reacts as incredulously as one would expect. It turns out that this charming back-and-forth was completely improvised by the two actors.
Jenkins would often give them the chance to go off script and ad lib the dialogue.
This spontaneous approach to filmmaking also left her with more options when the clips found their way to the editing room.
Zack Snyder Appeared In A Mysterious Cameo
Zack Snyder whipped up a storm when he posted a picture of himself online dressed as a soldier with the caption “In the trenches with Wonder Woman." The prominent director and producer is known for making subtle cameos in his own films and fans were eager to spot where he would show up.
The mystery was eventually solved. It would seem that Snyder stands in the background of the antique photograph seen in both Wonder Woman and Batman v. Superman. Snyder managed to shoot two birds with one stone and make it onto two films from his one day on the set of Wonder Woman.
Gadot's Baby Belly Was Covered In Green
Gadot was already five months pregnant by the time they were doing reshoots and she could no longer hide her baby bump from her co-workers. She would, however, have to hide her belly from the cameras. Emerging onto the battle field with a surprise bun in the oven would no doubt have been an intriguing plot twist.
In the name of continuity, they decided to edit her pregnant stomach out of the frame.
For the reshoots, Gadot had a green cloth attached across her stomach. This allowed editors to restore her tummy to its pre-pregnant state on the screen.
The Surprising Hardest Scene to Shoot
Thanks to its broad selection of action-packed sequences, the movie provided many challenges. The most challenging scene for director of photography Matthew Jensen moved at a much slower pace.
Jensen singles out the shots of Gadot and Danny Houston dancing as the hardest to capture. The sequence was shot inside the historic Hatfield House, where the crew could not attach any equipment to the walls or ceiling. To get close ups of the stars while they danced the crew had to build a 360 degree track around them for the camera.
Why The VFX Gets More Obvious As The Movie Goes On
Wonder Woman takes a more realistic approach to the superhero genre compared to many other contemporary films. The visual effects used in the movie are also in line with this approach. VFX producer Amber Kirsch was careful not to make the picture look overly animated.
The VFX producer revealed that the effects were made to reflect Diana's development.
In the beginning of the movie they are almost unnoticeable, but by the end they have become decidedly more bombastic. Visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer has also explained that the film's budget restricted them to producing a lot of the effects in camera.
Warner Bros. Only Wanted a Female Director
When Warner Bros. finally decided to make a Wonder Woman-feature film they knew they wanted a female director to helm the project. Producer Deborah Snyder later explained that it would have felt wrong to not have a woman direct a film about a feminist icon.
Producers first set their sights on Michelle MacLaren. MacLaren had experience from successful TV shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, but she turned out to not be a great fit for Wonder Woman. She eventually left the project, citing "creative differenced," Only a few days later it was announced that Jenkins would take over the role of director.
A Vital Scene Had To Be Reshot
Big budget movies often require massive overhauls in post-production. Sometimes plots get restructured, other times new scenes are added or there are extensive reshoots. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, only needed one minor adjustment. When Diana and Steve Trevor are walking towards the final battle against Ares, Jenkins wanted to create an atmosphere of building tension.
Unfortunately, the scene did not pack enough punch.
The scene was reshot to include a take of Diana seeing horses being brutally whipped, and just like that, Jenkins achieved the feel she was going for.
They Dug Real Trenches For The Film
To make the trenches in Wonder Woman look realistic, production had no other choice than to build real-life trenches outdoors. The trenches we see in the film were dug up outside of London and filmed during the winter months.
Jensen has explained that the scenes were immensely complicated to shoot. Not only did they have to choreograph actors and special effects, they also had to deal with uncertain weather conditions and low temperatures. If that was not enough of a challenge, Jensen added that they had to drag equipment through the mud and catch what they could of the sparse winter sunlight.
The Inspiration Behind the costumes
Costume designer Lindy Hemming wanted the Amazon warriors to look both mythological and fashion forward. She drew inspiration from ancient Greece and contemporary athletic wear for their looks.
Several civilizations around the Mediterranean had female leaders and warriors she could use as a point of departure.
Hemming struggled to find references to armor worn by female warriors and decided she would use the breast plates and leg shins worn by men in ancient Greece as the base for her designs. She also channeled strong and independent women in her more contemporary looks. Diana's twentieth century attire, for example, was inspired by the jackets and skirts worn by the Women's Auxiliary Corps.