Wonder Woman has finally hit theaters and fans are flocking to see the latest installment from the DC cinematic universe with great anticipation. All signs point to the picture being a critical and a box office success and fans couldn’t be happier. Out of all the great scenes in the movie, one scene in particular stands out from the rest for not only it’s action-packed sequences, but the emergence of Wonder Woman into cinematic history. However, many would be surprised to find out that it almost didn’t make the final cut. For those that haven’t seen the movie yet (what are you waiting for?), we’ll try to avoid as many spoilers as possible and try to keep descriptions at a minimal level. But be warned…some spoilers may occur.
No Man’s Land
One of the best scenes from the film is when Diana, Steve Trevor, and the rest of their squad arrive at the front lines during WWI. In this scene, we see the transformation of Diana of Themyscira into Wonder Woman as she charges the line across No Man’s Land, decked in the iconic Amazon armor with sword and shield in hand. What follows is a spectacular action sequence that leads audiences on a charge through enemy lines that displays Wonder Woman’s super-strength, fighting prowess, and most importantly, her courage. After watching all of this on screen, few can doubt that Wonder Woman has entered the pantheon of iconic movie super heroes.
One is left wondering, how is it possible that this scene would be cut from the movie? Well one reason is that studio executives just didn’t understand what purpose did the scene serve. In an interview with Fandango.com, the movie’s director, Patty Jenkins, stated:
“It’s my favorite scene in the movie and it’s the most important scene in the movie. It’s also the scene that made the least sense to other people going in, which is why it’s a wonderful victory for me.”
Many people were confused about the scene and how it fits into the overall narrative. Wonder Woman isn’t necessarily fighting a supervillain in the scene but it does serve a thematic purpose. Jenkins went on to say:
“I think that in superhero movies, [heroes] fight other people, they fight villains,” she said. “So when I started to really hunker in on the significance of No Man’s Land, there were a couple people who were deeply confused, wondering, like, ‘Well, what is she going to do? How many bullets can she fight?’ And I kept saying, ‘It’s not about that. This is a different scene than that. This is a scene about her becoming Wonder Woman.’”
A Super Source of Inspiration
In a separate interview with Collider, Jenkins talked about one source of inspiration that the filmmaker had to use in order to truly make Wonder Woman stand out. That source is none other than Christopher Reeves’ performance as Superman in the Richard Donner classic.
“The thing that I think that [Christopher Reeve’s] Superman had that our Wonder Woman has is the genuine compassion for man. Wanting to see the best in him, and wanting to help mankind, men and women, human beings. But what the character also had in every incarnation was her desire from the time that she was a young girl to be a hero. Her mother was a hero, her aunt was a hero, and she felt it was the destiny of herself and the other Amazons to be heroic, and so she wanted to fulfill that destiny from the very beginning, from the time that she was a little girl. That was always there, how she was gonna go about doing it wasn’t always there.”
Using Christopher Reeves’ Superman as a source of inspiration for your movie? I think it’s safe to say that things are starting to look bright for DC films.
Wonder Woman is in theaters right now.
