Wonder Woman (2017 film)

Wonder Woman is a 2017 superhero film based on the character from DC Comics. Directed by Patty Jenkins from a screenplay by Allan Heinberg, based on a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, and Jason Fuchs, it is the fourth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Gal Gadot stars as the title character, alongside Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, and Elena Anaya. Depicting the character's origin story, the film follows Diana, an Amazon princess, who leaves her home island of Themyscira during World War I after American pilot and spy Steve Trevor crash-lands on the island and informs her about the ongoing conflict. Believing the war is orchestrated by Ares, the god of war, she sets out to stop him and end the suffering.

Development of a live-action Wonder Woman film began in 1996, with Ivan Reitman initially set to produce and possibly direct. The project remained in development hell for many years, with writers and directors like Jon Cohen, Todd Alcott, and Joss Whedon attached at various points. Warner Bros. officially announced the film in 2010, and Patty Jenkins was hired as director in 2015. The film drew inspiration from William Moulton Marston's 1940s Wonder Woman stories, George Pérez's 1980s comics, and the New 52 version of the character. Principal photography began on November 21, 2015, in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, concluding on May 9, 2016. Additional filming occurred in November 2016.

Wonder Woman premiered at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on May 26, 2017, and was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 2. The film received critical acclaim for its direction, performances, visuals, story, action sequences, and cultural significance, though some criticism was directed at the climax. It grossed over $824 million worldwide, making it the tenth highest-grossing film of 2017 and the highest-grossing film by a solo female director until it was surpassed by Barbie (2023). The American Film Institute included it in its top ten films of 2017, and it won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2018. A sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, was released in December 2020, with Patty Jenkins returning as director and Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, and Connie Nielsen reprising their roles. Plans for a third film were canceled after DC Films was restructured into DC Studios in 2022.

Plot

In present-day Paris, Diana Prince receives a photographic plate from Wayne Enterprises of herself and four men taken during World War I, prompting her to recall her past.

Diana, the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, is raised on the hidden island of Themyscira, home to the Amazons, women warriors created by the Olympian gods to protect mankind. Hippolyta tells Diana the story of how Ares became jealous of humanity and orchestrated its destruction. When the other gods attempted to stop him, Ares killed all but Zeus, who used the last of his power to wound him and force his retreat. Before dying, Zeus left the Amazons a weapon, the "god-killer", to prepare them for Ares' return. Overprotecting Diana, Hippolyta conceals Diana's true origin from her, but reluctantly agrees to let her sister, Antiope, train Diana as a warrior.

In 1918, Diana rescues U.S. pilot Captain Steve Trevor when his plane crashes off the Themysciran coast. The island is soon invaded by German soldiers, who had been pursuing him. The Amazons suffer some casualties, but wipe out the German landing force, with Antiope sacrificing herself to save Diana.

Steve is interrogated with the Lasso of Hestia and reveals that a great war is consuming the outside world and that he is an Allied spy. He has stolen a notebook from the Germans' chief chemist, Dr. Isabel Maru, who is attempting to engineer a deadlier form of mustard gas under the orders of General Erich Ludendorff. Believing Ares to be responsible for the war, Diana arms herself with the "god-killer" sword, the lasso, and armor before leaving Themyscira with Steve.

In London, they deliver Maru's notebook to the Supreme War Council, where Sir Patrick Morgan is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany. Diana translates Maru's notes, revealing that the Germans plan to release the deadly gas at the Western Front.

Although forbidden by his commander to act, Steve, with secret funding from Morgan, recruits Moroccan spy Sameer, Scottish marksman Charlie, and Native American smuggler Chief Napi to help prevent the gas from being released. The team reaches the front in Belgium. Diana goes alone through No Man's Land and destroys the enemy trench, liberating the nearby village of Veld with the aid of the Allied forces. The team briefly celebrates, taking a photograph in the village, where Diana and Steve fall in love.

The team learns that a gala will be held at the nearby German High Command. Steve and Diana separately infiltrate the party; he intends to locate the gas and destroy it and she hopes to kill Ludendorff, believing that he is Ares. Steve stops her to avoid jeopardizing his mission, but this allows Ludendorff to unleash the gas on Veld, killing its inhabitants.

Blaming Steve for intervening, Diana pursues Ludendorff to a base where the gas is being loaded into a bomber aircraft bound for London. She fights and kills him, but is confused and disillusioned when his death does not stop the war.

Sir Patrick appears and reveals himself to be Ares. He tells Diana that although he has subtly given humans ideas and inspirations, it is ultimately their decision to resort to violence, as they are inherently corrupt. When Diana attempts to kill Ares with the "god-killer" sword, he destroys it before revealing to Diana that she is the "god-killer", since she is the daughter of Zeus.

While the two battle, Steve's team destroys Maru's laboratory. Steve hijacks and pilots the bomber carrying the poison to a safe altitude and detonates it, blowing up the plane and himself. Ares attempts to direct Diana's rage and grief at Steve's death by convincing her to kill Maru, but the memories of her experiences with Steve cause her to realize that humans have goodness within them. She spares Maru and redirects Ares's lightning into him, definitively killing him. Later, the team celebrates the end of the war.

In the present day, Diana sends an email to Bruce Wayne thanking him for the photographic plate of her and Steve. She continues to fight on the world's behalf as Wonder Woman.