Former Miss Israel is no less experienced than Henry Cavill was when he was cast in Man of Steel, says Josh Wilding
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There had been rumours, but it was finally made official yesterday evening: Wonder Woman will be joining Batman and Superman in their currently untitled 2015 team-up movie (which the majority are simply referring to as "Batman vs Superman").
The character was created way back in 1941, and while she's always had a presence in the comic books since then, Wonder Woman's adventures outside of them have been restricted to the small screen or animated home releases.
Of course, many of you will know the Amazonian Princess from her short lived live-action series in the 1970s starring Lynda Carter, and an attempt was even made to bring her back to television in 2011's failed pilot episode starring G.I. Joe: Retaliation's Adrianne Palicki.
As a result, many fans had given up hope that they would ever get to see Wonder Woman in a movie, perhaps explaining the widespread shock at yesterday's announcement!
Unsurprisingly, the news that Fast & Furious actress Gal Gadot has been cast in the role of the iconic DC superhero has been met with the usual mixed response.
Perhaps the silliest complaint is that she's just too slender to play Wonder Woman, although those same people have perhaps never heard of an actor training and bulking up before taking on a role like this! Does no one remember Christian Bale's The Machinist physique before he got ripped for the role of the Caped Crusader in Batman Begins?
Many were seemingly under the illusion that Warner Bros. would be able to find a physically intimidating 6 foot plus behemoth of a woman with a bust as ridiculously huge as her comic book counterpart, but Gal Gadot is undeniably a perfect choice for the role.
Gadot is an Israeli actress and model who is best known for playing Gisele in Fast & Furious, Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6. She had a small role in Knight & Day, but it's this franchise which has seen her shoot to prominence, especially after scenes like the one below.
The former Miss Israel is strikingly beautiful and has the right sort of exotic look to convincingly portray a superhero who is in fact an Amazon native to Paradise Island. In other words, any old American actress just wouldn't have cut it if they're staying faithful to Wonder Woman's comic book roots.
Gadot is not really any more or less experienced than Henry Cavill was when Man of Steel director Zack Snyder chose him to play Superman, and to dismiss her so soon would be a huge mistake. When Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker, fans were borderline hysterical, and yet his take on the iconic Batman villain is now considered to be one of the greatest portrayals of a big screen movie villain ever.
Many other actors who have taken on such iconic role have been similarly doubted, only for fans to be left red faced further down the line (the same will more than likely be the case when it comes to Ben Affleck's Batman too).
Avengers Assemble was criticised for only featuring a single female superhero (the non-superpowered Black Widow), and the likes of Elektra and Halle Berry's Catwoman have seemingly put Hollywood Studios off from giving these types of characters the spotlight.
However, after Anne Hathaway's critically acclaimed take on the latter character in The Dark Knight Rises last year, Warner Bros. have clearly put a lot of consideration into finding the right actress to play Wonder Woman.
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman
Whatever faults Man of Steel may have had, Zack Snyder has a keen eye for casting, and choosing a relative unknown like Gadot who doesn't bring with her a huge amount of expectations was a smart decision.
After all, part of the reason the choice of Ben Affleck as Batman has been so widely criticised is because of his famously awful appearances in the likes of Daredevil and Gigli! It's unfair, especially after his stellar turns in The Town and Argo, but also inevitable.
As cheesy and ridiculous as they may sometimes be, the Fast & Furious movies have shown that the actress has a good handle on action and she's certainly beautiful enough, so what is there to really complain about?
Wonder Woman is a role which will make Gadot a household name, possibly launching her into her own solo franchise and certainly the Justice League movie. She'll bring her A game to Batman vs. Superman and all the right ingredients are here for her to finally deliver the definitive take on the character that fans have been waiting for for over 70 years.
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