New Wonder Woman Image Reveals Women of Themyscira; Patty Jenkins Talks Costumes

Regardless of what the critical reception has been like to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as a whole, it’s clear that Wonder Woman’s role has fans more excited than ever for her standalone film. Given that, it’s crafty timing on Warner Bros.’ part to release a still this morning giving fans a pretty clear look at Wonder Woman alongside some of the bad-ass ladies who raised her.

The image features Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (in the foreground), Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, Robin Wright (on the far right) as General Antiope, and Lisa Loven Kongsli (on the far left) as Menalippe. Entertainment Weekly writes:

This trio of immortals is responsible for both raising and training Diana — the only child on this estrogen heavy isle — but they don’t always agree. Hippolyta, a revolutionary leader, longs to shelter her beloved daughter from the outside world, but Antiope, the Amazon responsible for Diana’s training, wants to prepare her. “She is the only child they raised together,” says Jenkins, calling from outside London, where she is deep into the film’s production. “And their love for her manifests in a different way for each of them.”

Wonder Woman‘s Themyscira scenes were filmed on islands off the coasts of Italy and southern China; according to Jenkins, every design decision she made for Themyscira came down to the same question: “How would I want to live that’s badass?”

Jenkins also talked to EW about the Amazons’ costumes, which she worked on alongside The Dark Knight costume designer Lindy Hemming: “To me, they shouldn’t be dressed in armor like men. It should be different. It should be authentic and real—and appealing to women.”

When asked by EW about the decision to give the Amazons heeled sandals, Jenkins explained that they also have flats for fighting, adding

It’s total wish-fulfillment […] I, as a woman, want Wonder Woman to be hot as hell, fight badass, and look great at the same time—the same way men want Superman to have huge pecs and an impractically big body. That makes them feel like the hero they want to be. And my hero, in my head, has really long legs.

Although it’s hard to get a sense for what Themyscira will look like as a whole from this image, I’m digging the Amazons’ sumptuous costumes (Robin Wright in particular looks badass).

I’ve seen some complaints on the World Wide Web about the designs being too revealing, but I think it’s important to remember that female superhero costumes are always contentious; directors and designers on female superhero films are pressured to address gender politics and questions of aesthetics vs. practicality far more than the creative teams on male-led superhero films do, and I’m not entirely sure that’s fair.

There’s no way Jenkins and her team could please everyone with their costume designs, and it’s absurd, gendered pressure to expect them to be able to. If you’re angry about the costumes in a female-directed superhero movie, it makes more sense to me to be angry at the overall dearth of female superhero movies than it is to direct that anger at one female director who’s been tasked with pleasing a chronically underserved audience of diverse tastes. If the Amazons were clad head-to-toe, there would be complaints about that as well, and just because something is sexy (which to me these outfits undeniably are) doesn’t necessarily mean it’s sexist. If the movie’s camera angles objectify the ladies or view them solely through the male gaze, I’ll be angry at the director and creative team specifically, but until then I’m happy with what I see here.

I will say that I hope Themyscira features more body diversity and inclusivity than is featured in this image, but as for the costumes themselves, I’m hype. .

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Carolyn Cox