Five Women Who Could Play Wonder Woman
By Nix | April 22, 2008 (11:18 am)
Uber producer Joel Silver has already expressed his desire to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen, but if he succeeds, who should play Wonder Woman? A couple of names come immediately to mind that could (literally) fill out the role like they were born to it, but a lack of name recognition may mean they’re left off the casting couch. One of the biggest criteria with casting the right Wonder Woman is the body — the actress simply has to be tall enough, and with enough muscle mass, to make the role work, so in that respect, someone like 4-foot-something Rachel Bilson would be out of the question.
There are no directors, no script, and nothing has been set in stone, but Silver has said many times that he wants to get a Wonder Woman movie made, and he uses his pursuit of getting the Speed Racer movie made as evidence that what Joel Silver wants, Joel Silver gets. Eventually.
So with that in mind, here are our suggestions on five women who we think should at least be given a shot at auditioning for Wonder Woman in the upcoming movie. What do all these women have in common? For one, they’re very easy on the eyes, but more importantly, they all have street cred with the fanboys, and as we all know, there’s nothing “streetier” than comic book reading fanboys.
Charisma Carpenter
Famous roles: Angel and Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV Shows
Why she should be Wonder Woman: Just look at her. She’s got the body for it.
Why she might not get the role: Name recognition. Or lack thereof. Unless the director is a big name, the stars have to pick up the slack. See “Speed Racer” — big name directors, small name actors.
Famke Janssen
Famous roles: “X-Men” Franchise
Why she should be Wonder Woman: She’s already proven her mettle playing a badass comic book character, and she’s got the strong, chiseled face (not necessarily a good thing for a woman, but in this case, it works for her) necessary to be an Amazonian Princess who can kick some serious ass. Add her to a semi-famous director, and you have a pretty good core.
Why she might not get the role: She’s in her ’40s. And unless Joel Silver wants to do a single, standalone movie (or replace her when the inevitable sequels get announced), she won’t be able to stay with the franchise, and that’s not a good thing for a comic book property.
Ali Larter
Famous roles: Heroes TV Show
Why she should be Wonder Woman: Dye that hair and she’s Wonder Woman. Plus, she’s still young enough to carry a franchise, and will bring all the Heroes fans with her to the movie theaters. Strike while the iron (Heroes) is still hot, Joel!
Why she might not get the role: You would need a really, really good director with a more household name to carry most of the load; Heroes is popular, but it’s also an ensemble show, and Ali Larter’s character hasn’t exactly been featured like, say, Hayden Panettiere’s.
Yvonne Strahovski
Famous roles: Chuck TV show
Why she should be Wonder Woman: She plays a badass Government agent who has to protect the show’s lead, which invariably involves her beating up guys and wearing different outfits to hide her identity. Basically, she’s Wonder Woman, she just doesn’t have the lasso and tiara yet.
Why she might not get the role: Yvonne Strahovski? Who is Yvonne Strahovski? Exactly.
Kelly Hu
Famous roles: “X2: X-Men United”, “The Scorpion King”
Why she should be Wonder Woman: She’s a beauty queen turned actress who has since become known for her character’s ability to beat people up and look good while doing it. Plus, did I mention she’s a former beauty queen, and would just kill in that bustier?
Why she might not get the role: Hollywood has no problems giving black actresses traditionally white roles, but seems less open-minded about Asian actresses doing traditionally white roles. For shame, Hollywood, for shame.
So who else do you think can pull off the Wonder Woman role?
Yeah, good for the guys at rotten tomatoes as their biggest target 
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jennifer connelly.
Michelle Ryan.
Jessica Biel
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Evangeline Lilly, Sarah Lancaster
Yes Charisma Carpenter is a good choice..i love her Angel days
Oh man, Strahovski is one hot spy on the Chuck show; she definitely have a bod.
I’d love Charisma Carpenter to be Wonder Woman; she lobbied hard for it at one time. She’s getting up there, but still looks incredibly good. Ultimately, they should, in my opinion, go the “Superman” route and cast an unknown. There is a tall, leggy, busty brunette out there who isn’t a stripper that could play Wonder Woman…I hope.
Monica Bellucci- she has the body & the looks.
I always thought CATHERINE ZETA JONES would be a perfect match. Especially when it comes to carrying off that ridiculous tiara/head band. Catherine’s got the class plus the a$$ to go with it.
Secondary choice would be KATE BECKINSALE - she looks good in anything that feels tight, and requires a$$-kicking.
What about Lucy Lawless. She looked great as Xena. She has the body and the fighting ability
in order of ranking and most deserving have to be Lucy Lawless (amazonian Xena), Charlize Theron, Monica Belluci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Beckinsale.
Jolene Blalock - thought she did great as T’Pol on Star Trek Enterprise!
here is one nobody mentions for those who don’t watch WWE, you’ll have no clue. Beth Phoenix, is a self-proclaimed glamazon, yes she’s blonde, but they can change that if she is up to the role, but of course no one will ask her. she’s only 5 foot 7 but she has REAL brute strength as i have seen her throw around two women at the same time. She also wears the amazon tiara-all the time. i think she would be a great WW as she has the mean streak that you would need to bring criminals to justice. my next choice would of course be Lucy Lawless, it’s be nice to see her in a movie.
I still believe that Megan Gale should portray Wonder Woman, if not in the JL film, then at least in the WW movie. She’s just too good a choice to throw away now that the JL film is on hold…yet again. sigh… Lynda Carter should most definitely portray her mother, Hippolyta. And developing the characters and relationships on Paradise Island (i.e., the Queen, Artemis, Donna Troy, etc.,) and Greek mythology (i.e., Ares, Circe, Aphrodite, etc.,) along with the characters from Man’s World (i.e., Steve Trevor, Etta Candy and the Woo-Woo Girls, the Cheetah, etc.,) would prove awesome for viewers! And provide her with her iconic accoutrements (i.e., tiara that she also uses as a boomerang and video phone; earrings that can translate any spoken language; bracelets that deflect objects and can create a force field around her) as well as her other magical super powers (i.e., mimic anyone’s voice; the transformation twirl; and the ability to see the good in everyone). And let’s not forget to include her invisible jet/Wonderdome cast of characters.
As for a No-No List, how about the following Don’ts as well:
1. Don’t make her a teenager; make her 2000+ years old. It makes for a richer background and back-story.
2. Don’t make her fly. She’s not Superman. That’s what her cool and unique invisible jet is for.
3. Don’t take away her iconic costume. She wears the American flag and that’s part of her unique appeal.
4. Don’t make her overtly sexy/sexual.
5. Don’t make her too mannish/butch. Allow her to have some curves, just not gratuitous jiggle.
6. Don’t cast well-known actors other than Lynda Carter (for obvious reasons). Allow views the chance to get to know the character as the character and not some actor AS the character. Christopher Reeve and Lynda Carter are great examples of this!
7. Don’t exclude villains from her comics. There are tons of great ones to use (e.g., Circe, Silver Swan, Cheetah, Dr. Poison, Ares, Dr. Psycho, etc.).
8. Don’t forget to include her secret identity. The one thing that most EVERYONE who talks about WW comments on is that FAMOUS Lynda Carter twirl. There’s lots of fun and excitement seeing how she’ll be able to keep her secret in order to protect the ones she loves in Man’s World as well as to be undercover.
9. Don’t overlook the invisible jet/Wonderdome. Lots of creative possibilities and uniquely rich characters to draw upon.
10. Don’t get rid of her high heels. They’re silly in some ways, but she IS a comic book character, and if you look at most comic book characters, they’re costumes really don’t translate into the real world. But that’s part of the fantasy and appeal. It’s not supposed to be real world.