Where Patty Jenkins Got Inspiration For Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is one of those great comic book characters that has been around for so long that she's evolved and been reinterpreted multiple times over the decades. Patty Jenkins recently explained how she was inspired to define her in the new film. Where numerous reboots within the comics have changed Wonder Woman's character over the years Jenkins says she based a lot of Diana on the original comics, as well as using the other major media outing for the character. According to Jenkins...

I based her on the original comics and Lynda Carter's [TV interpretation]. I followed the rules that I believe in: Wonder Woman doesn't hurt people for fun. She doesn't use violence unless she has to, and when she has to, she's incredibly adept. Everybody assumes she has to be a badass. Of course, she has to be a badass. It was my duty to say being badass doesn't mean she's not loving, funny, warm, all those things.

One of the most recent trailers for the new Wonder Woman movie does seem to confirm that this version of Wonder Woman was not born, but was rather created. This would jive with characters original origin, as originally she was actually sculpted from clay and given life by the gods. While we're not quite sure that this is exactly how the character will come to life on the screen, it would seem that something along those lines is what will happen.

Patty Jenkins also tells Glamour Magazine (via comicbook.com) that Lynda Carter's TV Wonder Woman was also a significant influence. This will likely help many potential theatergoers relate to the character as the TV version may be the most well known for those who never actually read the comic books.

As the first female-led comic book movie of this generation, there are a lot of expectations for Wonder Woman being able to prove that a woman can hold her own in the action department with all the men. However, Patty Jenkins wants to point out that action wasn't the only priority for her. Instead, what she needed to do was balance the action with all the other aspects of the character's personality. While Jenkins admits that being "badass" was important, she doesn't discount the importance of everything else that Wonder Woman needed to be.

Trailers for movies like Wonder Woman tend to focus on the action because that makes for a better trailer, which means we haven't really had an opportunity to see many of these other aspects of the character. Certainly, a well-rounded character makes for a better movie, and whatever you think of the DC movies so far, we're all hoping that Wonder Woman turns out to be something special. We'll find out when the film debuts June 2.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.