In less than a month, DC Comics and Warner Bros. will finally be releasing the first ever Wonder Woman live-action movie, starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian princess. After 70 long years, we are finally getting a blockbuster movie centered entirely on Diana Prince, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Fans will remember, though, that this is not Wonder Woman’s first big break in Hollywood. In fact, anyone who was around in the late 1970s will probably remember the iconic Wonder Woman television series starring Lynda Carter. Although the comic had been around for many decades beforehand, it was between 1975 and 1979 that Wonder Woman was really first introduced to the mainstream public. Through Carter’s expression of Wonder Woman, we were all introduced to a strong, self-reliant, powerful and kind superheroine that did not rely on her male counterparts – and that is undoubtedly a lot for Gadot to live up to.
Even after the television series ended in 1979, Carter’s influence continued to spread and Wonder Woman truly became an icon in popular culture. Despite attempts to reboot the series, it was Carter’s image that still to this day remains on a lot of the merchandise and is recreated by fans. Even modern industries that didn’t exist in the 1970s like iGaming continue to be inspired by Carter, with Microgaming’s Wonder Woman Gold slot, which can be found at many online casino UK sites, often sitting proudly amongst other superhero-based games. Many iGaming hubs also offer welcome bonuses in the form of matched deposits and free spins, so you may not have to part with real money to play the title.
Of course, Carter’s social impact cannot be underestimated, either. Wonder Woman represented female empowerment that did not back down and did not apologize. Lynda Carter was the face of feminine strength that always aimed to create peace but was never weak. She was a leading force for feminism, pacifism and the LGBT community when we needed her most, and in October 2016 Wonder Woman even became a UN Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls.
So, will Gal Gadot be able to take on and live up to such an outstanding legacy?
Well, if the Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice reviews are anything to go by Gadot has definitely gotten off to a good start. While the film as a whole may have divided fans and critics everywhere, most agreed that Wonder Woman well and truly came out ahead of her squabbling fellow heroes. Gadot portrayed a Wonder Woman that was just as strong, empowered and independent as ever and we truly hope that this continues to be the case throughout the new Wonder Woman movie.
Ultimately, regarding whether Gadot will manage to pull it off, Lynda Carter herself says it best. “I’ll have to wait and see,” Carter stated back in 2014 when asked about Batman vs Superman. “I hate to comment on something that I haven’t seen and I’m very supportive of Gal Gadot. I’m very supportive of them doing Wonder Woman, putting her in any capacity. I think she needs to be out there. … It’s high time somebody took a chance and did it and so I’m really happy about that.”
