They’re the most popular film genre, and one of the most popular singers wants in.
Beyoncé says she wants to be Wonder Woman in the long-time-coming movie.
Talking to the Los Angeles Times
the singer/actress said, “I want to do a superhero movie and what would
be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very
bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It's time
for that, right?"
Well, at least she’s hitting the obvious nail on the head. A re-casting
of Wonder Woman from her Greek roots to a darker tone would be a major
shift for a comic book to film adaptation (rumors about Will Smith playing Captain America notwithstanding). To date, all the major
characters who have crossed over have retained their look from the
comics, and yes, by look, we mean skin color. Back-up characters and
supporting cast have been changed here and there, such as Michael Clark
Duncan as Kingpin in Daredevil,
but casting an African American as Wonder Woman would be a major
departure for DC Comics and Warner Bros., who are notoriously
protective of their top three characters, Superman, Batman and Wonder
Woman.
That’s not saying the mythology of Wonder Woman couldn’t be massaged
and tweaked to make it work though – in fact, the singer says she has
met with DC Comics and Warner Bros. reps about the possibility of
playing Wonder Woman in film. And of course, in times of potentially narrowing box office returns, the idea of Beyonce headlining a film
starring the most popular female superhero in the world may replace the
pupils of some executives' eyes with dollar signs, to use some comic bookian visual imagry.
And of course, there is the undeniable factor of the outfit…
“I would definitely have to keep it right for that costume,” Beyonce told the Times.
“The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was amazing.
I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It was pretty
crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman and it'd be a
dream come true to be that character. It sure would be handy to have
that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need that. It would
come in very handy."
As for the real possibility of seeing Beyonce on screen as Wonder Woman? It’s very hard to say - Wonder Woman is
becoming the Holy Grail of comic book to film adaptations, and has been
stuck in various stages of development hell for years. Most notable
among the efforts was Joss Whedon taking a spin at the Amazon Princess,
but even he had to back off when he wasn’t able to deliver a script
that captured the attention of executives at Warner Bros. Beyonce's interest - if she's serious - she is, after all, busily promoting her new album, and is currently working any and every angle to get her name in the press - could perhaps be enough to muscle the project back on to the active list for the studio, who recently said they are revising how they work with and view the DC Comics properties.
Recently, Australian actress Megan Gale was pegged to star as Wonder Woman in the planned Justice League
ensemble film which was to bring together all of DC’s top-tier heroes.
Plans for that film appear to have been put to rest – thankfully, in
the eyes of many fans.
Dozens of actresses have been promoted by fans as being “the” choice
for Wonder Woman over the past few years, including, most recently
Megan Fox, who was the subject of a hoax “teaser” website. And in shades of Sean Young, many actresses have either dressed as Wonder Woman for Halloween, or lest themselves be seen in Wonder Woman outfits in various roles over the years.
At Warner's, the potential film is under the care of Producer Joel Silver who has said he's looking for a way to make it work.
