NW_Magazine_Issue_23_2017

Only a true Wonder
Woman could slide
into that iconic
costume and bring
the classic comicbook
character to life while five
months pregnant.
But then, Gal Gadot has
always been a Wonder Woman
– and a flick through her CV
confirms it. Fashion model,
pageant queen, soldier in the
Israeli Defense Force... It’s almost
as if she was born for this role!
And the 32-year-old was so
determined to give the superhero
her own epic feature film – having
made her debut in the role in last
year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn
Of Justice – that a burgeoning
baby bump was never going
to get in the way.
So how did she work
around it? Well, it turns out the
Israeli stunner had shot most of
the flick before her pregnancy,
so for the reshoots, a triangle of
green material was added to the
front of her costume that allowed
the special effects team to
digitally alter her tum with
green-screen technology.
“On close-up, I looked very
much like Wonder Woman,” Gal
says. “On wide shots, I looked
very funny, like Wonder Woman
pregnant with Kermit The Frog!”
Not even body bullies were
going to stop her pulling on that
costume (even if it did take 20
minutes to get on!).
Yep, can you believe it?
After critics slammed her shape
when it was announced she
was taking on the role, before
film
g even started, Gal endured
a complete body overhaul –
putting on nearly eight kilos in
Gal Gadot
on becoming
muscle mass
thanks to a rigorous fighttraining
program.
“They said I was too
skinny and my boobs weree
too small,” Gal says of the
haters. “They said my
head was too big
and my body was like
a broomstick – I can
take anything.”
And it’s this sort of unwavering
strength that makes Gal perfect
for Wonder Woman, which also
happens to be the first time
the character’s been given her
own live-action cinema release.
Sure, we’ve seen her in other
male-dominated superhero
franchises, various cartoons and
the 1970s TV series starring
Lynda Carter, but we’ve never
seen Wonder Woman – aka Diana
Prince – quite like this.
As in previous versions, Diana
is an Amazon princess from the
female-only island paradise of
Themyscira, but this isn’t the
Wonder Woman of the old comic
strip or even the one we met in
Batman v Superman: Dawn Of
Justice. Nope, this origin story
takes us right back to World War I,
with Wonder Woman joining the
fight to save humanity.
“Her armour, the shield
and lasso are what you could
describe as defensive weapons as
opposed to offensive,” says
director Patty Jenkins.
“She’s not choosing to fight
for the thrill of battle. She’s
fighting because she believes
in something and she’s quick to
put down that sword when the
opportunity’s there.”
And you can Ctrl+Alt+Delete
what you saw in last year’s flick,
says Gal, as this Wonder Woman
story explores the softer side
of Diana Prince.
“The character that I played in
BvS was more realistic and more
mature and more of a woman,”
reveals Gal.
“This one, this is the coming-of-
age of
Diana. It’s her story. She
starts as a very naïve girl – naïve,
positive, happy, seeking-forgirl.
But in BvS, she’s been
good
through a lot. She’s already
understood what the complexity
ofhuman beings is.”
And despite the many threads
woven
together to create this
Lisa Loven Kongsli,
Gal, Connie
Nielsen, and Robin
Wright are
#GirlPowerGoals in
Wonder Woman
blockbuster version, the crux
of it all is that Wonder Woman
is “costumed proof that women
can land a punch... for the
common good”, says producer
Deborah Snyder.
“That’s a part of her history.
Her mission to empower women
and people all over the world is
what makes her very relatable...
It would be a mistake not to
honour that legacy.”
It would also be a mistake not
to acknowledge the truth about
Wonder Woman now that her
story’s being delivered in an
era of female empowerment
– that despite shacking up with
Chris Pine’s character Steve
Trevor, Wonder Woman likes
a dip in the lady pond, too!
“Nobody at DC [Comics] has
ever said, ‘She’s gotta be
straight.’ They’ve never blinked
at this,” says DC writer Greg
Rucka. “It’s supposed to be
paradise. You’re supposed to
be able to live happily [on her
island home]. And part of what
an individual needs for that
happiness is to have a partner
– to have a fulfilling, romantic
and sexual relationship. And
the only options are women.”
Indeed, while we won’t see
any girl-on-girl love unfold on
screen, Gal says you can’t
ignore the obvious.
“In this movie, she doesn’t
experience any bisexual
relationships, but it’s not
about that,” she says.
“She’s a woman who loves
people for who they are – she
can be bisexual. She loves
people for their hearts.”
And if Gal could have her pick
of female love interests to cosy
up to in a future film?
“I saw her the other day –
Halle Berry. She’s so beautiful,”
Gal admits. “So, yeah,
I could do it with her.”
Bring on the sequel!
Wonder Woman is in cinemas Thurs