‘Wonder Woman’ Director Was Wary About Setting Film During World War I

Wonder Woman finally arrive in theaters this weeks and will depict the DC Comics heroines classic origin story. Of course, as with most comic book adaptations, there will some alterations to Diana’s story. Perhaps the most notable change is how the film will be set during World War I while the titular heroine’s comic book origin was set during the Second World War. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, writer Allan Heinberg and director Patty Jenkins explained why the creative team behind the film decided to change the setting for Wonder Woman‘s first standalone feature.

Heinberg explained why both he and Zack Snyder found World War I to be an ideal setting while they were developing the story, noting similarities between that era and modern times.

“We are in a very WWI world today with nationalism and how it would take very little to start a global conflict. It’s the first time we had an automated war. The machine gun was a new invention. Gas was used for the first time. New horrors were unleashed every day.”

Jenkins revealed that she initially had concerns about changing Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston’s original story.

At first, I questioned it because it wasn’t her actual origin story, but very quickly I saw the genius behind it. World War I is the first time that civilization as we know it was finding its roots, but it’s not something that we really know the history of. Even the way that it was unclear who was in the right of WWI is a really interesting parallel to this time. Then you take a god with a moral compass and a moral belief system, and you drop them into this world, there are questions about women’s rights, about a mechanized war where you don’t see who you are killing. It’s such a cool time.”

It appears the alterations to Wonder Woman‘s origin did not negatively affect the film as audiences and critics alike have praised the film as faithful depiction of the iconic heroine.

Directed by Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Ewen Bremner and Saïd Taghmaoui.

Wonder Woman will be released in theaters on June 2, 2017.

Source: Entertainment Weekly