Animation has been a cornerstone in introducing nerds to comic book adaptations for decades. The 90s provided a golden era for the medium with series like Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and even Batman Beyond. In recent years, the medium of animation has made a massive comeback with acclaimed series such as Invincible, the rebooted X-Men ’97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and Batman: Caped Crusader. This resurgence has paved the way for DC Studios to utilize this format to tell stories in their newly connected DC Universe (DCU) in a way that their comic book counterpart, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), hasn’t been able to accomplish.
James Gunn has been the most vocal studio head of all time, providing fans with clear insight into what to expect from DC Studios. Gunn’s social media presence has provided clarity on what information is false while also teasing possible future projects. One project Gunn has hinted at that is in the works while replying to a fan on X is an animated series featuring Wonder Woman, which would be akin to Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. While DC has provided an avenue for projects that will live outside the connected DCU, like My Adventures with Superman, as well as the upcoming Starfire! and My Adventures with Green Lantern series, the DCU could benefit from laying the groundwork for Princess of Themyscira and her Amazonian heritage in a long-form series before introducing her in a live-action film.
Why Is Wonder Woman Such an Important DC Character?
Wonder Woman, a.k.a. Diana Prince is part of what is called the Trinity of DC Comics, alongside Batman and Superman — the three are the most important pillars of the universe. Wonder Woman has a very distinct difference from the two arguably more famous heroes. She chose to be a hero on Earth — Batman and Superman didn’t. Of course, they both chose to use their powers for the greater good, but their paths were molded by circumstance. Batman’s journey was caused by tragedy, while Superman’s road to becoming a hero was instilled upon him since his birth. Wonder Woman left the paradise of Themyscira, a peaceful society made up of immortal women, because she believed her god-like powers served a greater purpose on Earth than in her homeland.
Diana chose to enter a flawed world full of pure hatred and injustice, because her home had overcome these atrocities and, rather than reaping the benefits of her ancestors, she chose a journey where Wonder Woman could be a symbol of good in the world. A symbol that accepts everyone, regardless of what good or evil things they may have done, in hopes of moving forward together to build a greater tomorrow. This theme of the greater good and hope in humanity would fit perfectly with the first movie in Gunn’s DCU, Superman, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. The introduction of Diana into the fold of the greater DCU will only add to the theme of innate goodness as Wonder Woman takes the leap of leaving her home to demonstrate the standard of what heroism means.
Related
DC has a perfect opportunity to put the “Monsters” in “Gods and Monsters.”
What Wonder Woman doesn’t have in comparison to Batman and Superman is decades of countless iterations that have cemented her origin story in the pop culture zeitgeist. An animated series focusing on the origin of Diana as a hero, while building out the world of Themyscira and the integral supporting characters around her, is exactly what the DCU needs to get fans to know the character as well as they do Superman and Batman. While Gunn announced the series Paradise Lost along with his slate for Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters, which is reported to be an origin story for Paradise Island that dates well before the birth of Wonder Woman, Diana’s animated series can focus on the present-day Themyscira, and integral characters to Diana like Hippolyta (Diana’s mother and Queen of the Amazons), Donna Troy (Diana’s sister and member of Teen Titans), Wonder Girl (Diana’s sidekick and member of Young Justice), Nubia (DC Comics’ first Black superhero), and all the gods and goddesses that make up the rich lore of Wonder Woman’s ancestry.
Themyscira Has Already Been Introduced in the DCU
Gunn and DC Studios have proven they can knock it out of the park with animated projects with Creature Commandos, and everyone in the DCU who voices animated counterparts of their characters will play them in live-action, so this would be the perfect way to announce the actor playing Wonder Woman and then delivering a captivating origin story told through the beautiful medium of animation. Creature Commandos was the first official project in the DCU, and while it was quite contained and told its own story, it did a lot of world-building to lay the groundwork for the greater DCU at large. The series introduced the exiled Amazonian sorceress Circe (Anya Chalotra) as one of its main antagonists, a character with a comic precedent of destroying Wonder Woman and everything she stands for. Creature Commandos showcased Circe using the Sons of Themyscira to help invade the country of Pokolistan, which in turn will allow them to accompany her when she seeks revenge on her former native land.
Creature Commandos made it clear to the audience that Themyscira was already established in the DCU, cementing the fact that Wonder Woman will be a key component to this universe. Fans even got to see the Trinity in a vision from Circe shown to Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), envisioning the end of the world with DC’s greatest heroes killed by Gorilla Grodd and Princess Ilana Rostovic (Maria Bakalova). While Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were first shown as dead in the DCU, having the three front and center in this post-apocalyptic vision is proof that these characters will be the center of this universe as it continues to grow. While there are no confirmed plans for Wonder Woman yet, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn confirmed that films centered around both Diana Prince and Batman are the current priority for DC Studios moving forward.