When it comes to how DC on film’s history could’ve gone much differently, canned movies such as Superman Lives, Batman Unchained and Justice League Mortal are often among the first that come to mind. But, believe it or not, a certain Amazon Warrior nearly came to the silver screen a decade or so ago when Joss Whedon had been hired to pen a Wonder Woman screenplay. In fact, if you go back and look at early printings of the Identity Crisis trade paperback, you’ll find an introduction written by him with that very project attached to his name!
For whatever reason, it slipped through the cracks over the years, with the property collecting dust until Patty Jenkins’ flick got off the ground. Still, Whedon’s script hasn’t gone unforgotten and even leaked last year. Personally, I hadn’t read it, so I can’t judge – I just hope that his dialogue for Diana Prince was better than what we’ve seen him bestow upon Batman.
Anyways, the filmmaker recently opened up about it and here’s what he had to say when speaking with Variety on the red carpet at the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War:
“I don’t know which parts people didn’t like, but I went and reread the script after I heard there was a backlash. I think it’s great.”
“People say that it’s not woke enough. I think they’re not looking at the big picture. It’s easy to take one phrase out of context.”
Still, Whedon remained classy by praising Jenkins’ effort, saying:
“I had such a good time that I didn’t think about my script. And I’m the person who should of hated it, because I really loved my script. I totally forgot I had written one, I just had a great time.”
As always, it’s fun to ponder the possibilities, but had Whedon’s Wonder Woman seen the light of day, he likely would’ve never gone on to helm the first two Avengers films, thus the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it today may not exist. That said, it’s probably for the best that history played out the way it did.