Monica Bellucci...too skinny?

Exclusive: Joel Silver on Wonder Woman

We've already heard repeatedly from producer Joel Silver that Joss Whedon had turned in an approved script for Wonder Woman, but we never have learned why Silver decided to pursue the rights to the DC Comics character created by William Marston, or why he picked Joss Whedon to direct it, for that matter.

In this exclusive interview with ComingSoon.net/SuperheroHype.com from the San Diego Comic-Con, where Silver was promoting his latest horror thriller The Reaping starring Hilary Swank, we asked him some of those unasked questions.

"It was after I made 'The Matrix' when I saw the response of the first tests and I realized the Trinity character was the highest-tested character," he told us. "This was before they had done 'Charlie's Angels' or 'Elektra' or any of these movies, and I thought, 'Let's just go out and try to make Wonder Woman work,' and I could never find a script that I liked, but we're close now."

And what made him think of getting Joss Whedon to write and direct it? "I just thought he would be the perfect guy to write it. I love Buffy and he's a great writer. I sat down with him and asked if he'd do it, and he wrote me a note where he passed, and in the note, he explained what the movie had to be. There was no way I was going to let him pass, so I hammered him until he said, 'Yes.'"

When asked about the general take that Joss took with the movie, Silver explained, "It's the origin story. It has mythology. Steve Trevor crashes on the island and they go back to Man's World."

"We have a script and we know where we're going," he responded when asked about where they are in the casting process. "She'll probably be someone you never saw before, because she's very young, but I think we'll have a good time with it."

Silver also responded to whether he has any worries about making the movie after the weak box office openings for other movies based on the big DC characters like Batman Begins and Superman Returns. "I love Batman and Superman, I love them both," he said. "I'm just trying to get the best version of the movie that I can. It's the trifecta. Those are the three oaks of DC Comics. I mean, Marvel Comics have tended to be hipper and cooler in many ways because they were designed to react against the DC Comics, but the DC Comics characters were the real deal, so we're trying to get this right."

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Comic-Con: Joel Silver On Wonder Woman
Project is going ahead, says producer

So… Batman’s Begun. Superman’s Returned. Now, we’re all wondering when we’re going to see, erm, Wonder Woman Begin To Return to the silver screen. OK, let’s just make that plain old Wonder Woman, the last member of DC’s Big Three (sorry Green Lantern) to be turned into a movie.

It seems like Joss Whedon has been working on the script (which he plans to direct) forever. But lately some rumours have sprung up that all was not well on the project, that Warner Bros. were not overly happy with the direction in which Whedon was taking the character… and that the plug might be pulled.

Not so, though, according to producer Joel Silver, who spoke briefly with Empire about the project at the San Diego Comic-Con.

“It’s real, but it’s not real yet. Joss has done a great job on the draft and now he’s tweaking it a little bit so we can give it to the studio in two weeks,” said Silver. “And if they believe in it in the way that we think they will, then we’ll be talking about that movie next year.”

All of which means that it’s early days – didn’t stop us asking about casting, though, especially with Hilary Swank, who’d be a good choice to fill the hotpants of the super-powered Amazonian princess, present in the room at that time (she was there with Silver to promote their new horror movie, The Reaping). But Silver says that he’s looking for a younger star, a la Brandon Routh in Superman Returns.

“We’re not there yet,” he added. “It’s an origin story so it’s gotta be a young girl. I don’t know if you’ll have heard of her before, but she’s gotta be young. But I don’t think Linda Carter’s available!

“I think that Wonder Woman is one of the three original oaks of the firmament of superheroes,” continued Silver. “Marvel Comics are a whole another arena – but I think we can pull it off. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think we could.”

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JOEL SILVER TALKS WONDER WOMAN
The producer hopes to be at Comic-Con next year to talk about moving forward with Joss Whedon's production on the Amazonian comic book adaptation

The new horror film THE REAPING starring Hilary Swank and directed by Stephen Hopkins is due out November 8, and producer Joel Silver talked about this highly unusual Dark Castle film at Comic-Con today.

However, conversation quickly turned to another female driven film Silver is guiding – the movie adaptation of WONDER WOMAN by Joss Whedon.

"Joss is getting closer on the script," reveals Silver. "When we have a good script we all like, at that point the studio will agree to make it and we’ll go from there. He’s doing a good job. He’s utilizing the lore of the material and it’s an origin story, so you’re dealing with the origin of the story. He’s a very talented writer and he has a great story and ideas and moving our way toward making the movie and maybe next year we can start talking about the movie here."

For Silver, the biggest challenge of bringing WONDER WOMAN to the screen is finding a movie that works not only for fans, but for mainstream audiences as well.

"It’s finding the kind of movie that will appeal to everyone," says Silver. "It has to work , and it has to have a good character in WONDER WOMAN and be clever and it has to draw you in. Of these three [D.C.] characters. Superman is an alien, Batman is a tough guy and Wonder Woman is a goddess, so you have to work your way through the process."

And while speculation as to who will play the Amazonian goddess has been heating up even before a script is delivered, Silver reveals that there are more benefits to casting an unknown in the lead.

"Probably," he says. "She’s young, I don’t think it can be someone you’ve heard of. Once we have the template of the girl, we’ll be able to find her."

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