English actress Kate Beckinsale apparently passed up the chance to play the lead role in a Wonder Woman feature back in the 2000s. After recently passing the $400 million dollar mark at the domestic box office, the Patty Jenkins directed feature for the DC Extended Universe has thus far netted Warner Bros. Pictures a whopping $786 million globally, and counting.
Starring Gal Gadot in the lead role, Wonder Woman spent countless years in various states of preproduction - including an abandoned feature that was meant to be written and directed by Joss Whedon - before the Amazonian princess finally received her shot as the star of a major motion picture this past June. Jenkins finally managed to bring the superheroine to the big screen to widespread acclaim - though Gadot wasn't the first actor to be offered the title role.
According to Yahoo! Movies, Kate Beckinsale was previously considered for the role of Diana Prince in Wonder Woman during the 2000s when the London born performer was fresh off her debut turn in the dark fantasy franchise Underworld. However, Beckinsale was apparently less than eager to take on another action-heavy role at the time, stating:
"I don’t know if I was desperate to be in a leotard. I’d already done the rubber trousers. You have to take in that you have a child at some point and how much could you possibly embarrass them."
Beckinsale wasn't particularly pleased with Whedon's script when Warner Bros. initially approached her about starring in Wonder Woman, which she tactfully glossed over in comparison to Jenkins' more appetizing production. Furthermore, Beckinsale is not a huge fan of the armies of fans that flock to Comic Con-centric fare - not to mention the hours of intense exercise that go into preparing for a movie that requires peak physical fitness.
Following her last outing as an action franchise star in Underworld: Blood Wars last year, Beckinsale appears perfectly content to appear in more straightforward dramas for the time begin. On that note, fans can look forward to the actress' next starring turn in The Only Living Boy in New York this week - though here's to hoping that action movie fans haven't seen the last of her quite yet, either.
MORE: Wonder Woman Blu-ray Release Date Revealed
Source: Yahoo! Movies
