Wonder Woman Movie: Studio Searches For Female Director [Report]

Warner Bros. is reportedly looking for a female director to helm the recently announced Wonder Woman movie. The film would mark the first time the superhero has had her own standalone film, and also the second time a female director leads such a production.

In the aftermath of the studio’s announcement of nine superhero films to premiere between 2016 and 2020, starting with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, WB is trying hard to respond to criticism that superhero films are ruled by males, both in front and behind the camera. Additionally, critics have accused Hollywood of lack of diversity in casting main characters.

Wonder Woman will be played by Israel-born actress Gal Gadot, who is best known for her role in the Fast & Furious franchise. Controversy surrounded her casting in Batman v Superman, as many fans believed that she was not tough enough to portray Diana Prince and her alter ego.

However, Gadot comes to the role with some impressive credentials and is tougher than she appears. The 29-year-old actress, model, and 2004 Miss Israel winner, is also a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces and served her country as a soldier for two years.

With their formidable schedule, which brings excited fans consecutive superhero films for the foreseeable future — not to mention those Marvel is also putting out in the same period of time — WB is poised to up the ante when it comes to this genre and it has clearly taken the diversity issue to task.

Not only will Gal Gadot star in her own standalone Wonder Woman movie, but WB has cast Ezra Miller — who recently confessed he is “queer” as The Flash, half-Polynesian actor Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and in a surprise move Ray Fisher as Cyborg, which would mark only the second time an African-American is cast for a superhero movie (the first was the 2004 David S. Goyer movie Blade: Trinity starring Wesley Snipes).

As far as who could be chosen to direct the Wonder Woman movie, there are a couple of female director names floating around. The most obvious one is that of Lexi Alexander, who directed the 2008 action movie Punisher: War Zone, making her one of the only woman who has directed this genre.

Patty Jenkins came close to following in Alexander’s footsteps in a much more substantial film, Thor: The Dark World. However, she pulled out, citing conflicting creative issues and Alan Taylor finally came on board to bring the sequel to life. A report on Forbes suggests that the main contenders to direct the Wonder Woman movie are Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Mimi Leder (Deep Impact), and Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), however, Bigelow is quite busy working on other projects.

Who do you think should direct the new Wonder Woman movie?

[Image via Zack Snyder/Twitter]