Gal Gadot

Ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, we have our first bit of news about Warner Bros.’ ‘Wonder Woman.’

Following the negative reactions to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the party line over at Warner Bros. right now seems to be “fun.” Studio executives and creatives have been assuring fans that, moving forward, their DC movies are going to be a bit lighter than Zack Snyder’s grim-and-gritty superhero epic. And while we’ve been told The Flash and Justice League movies will be fun, someone apparently didn’t get that memo for Wonder Woman.

Even before the early reviews began rolling in, the trailers solidified Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman as the most exciting attraction in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Audiences agreed, as Wonder Woman — whose name isn’t even in the title of the film — ranked highest in a recent poll that asked fans which character they were most eager to see in Zack Snyder’s superhero epic. As predicted, Gadot’s debut is definitely the best thing in Batman v Superman, and although her part only makes up about seven minutes of the film’s 150-minute runtime, those few minutes are riveting — but not enough to justify Snyder’s unfortunate treatment of the remaining female characters.

Though critics so far have not been kind to Batman vs. Superman (currently at 32% on Rotten Tomatoes), one of the bright spots for the film has been the reception to Wonder Woman who, despite her minimal screen time, has earned highly positive reviews. Perhaps looking to capitalize on that word of mouth, Warner Bros. has wisely decided to reveal the first official photo from the upcoming Wonder Woman movie, including our first look at Hippolyta, Antiope and Menalippe.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It's right there in the title: Batman fighting Superman is the titular attraction (and also maybe some justice?), and yet according to a new survey, Wonder Woman is the part of the film audiences are looking forward to the most. Gal Gadot's debut as the iconic superhero ranked highest in the poll, with Jesse Eisenberg's wacky take on Lex Luthor coming in second.

Zack Snyder makes superhero movies, but his characters don’t act very heroic. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice features all the other trappings of the superhero genre: Capes, gadgets, outlandish muscles, punching stuff. But the two stars aren’t noble or chivalrous; they’re violent, aggressive, and angry — mostly at each other instead of the bad guys. In Snyder’s formulation, protecting the world from evil isn’t a gift or a calling; it’s a burden. And that feeling is reflected in the movie itself, a burdensome 150- minute slog about two men fighting over who is in the right when both are very clearly in the wrong.

Finally. I know the movie is called Batman V Superman, but they've both had their cinematic adventures before and the subsequent action figure lines that come with the territory. Both Batman and Superman have had numerous Hot Toys figures too, so for me, it's been all about waiting for that Wonder Woman reveal. The Hong Kong company has done well to keep Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman figure a secret, but now that the first preview screenings have started, it seemed like the perfect time to finally loose the Amazon warrior into the wild. There's not a lot to dislike about this Wonder Woman, but even in releasing the first set of official images for the figure, Hot Toys has managed to not give us a completely clear look at the whole piece. Not counting the accessories montage image, there are just nine images of Wonder Woman available, with six focused completely on the head sculpt. It's not a tactic we're used to seeing, as Hot Toys usually throws more than a dozen different prototype images together for reveals like this which show off more costume and articulation details. The lack of posing in these images has me a little worried.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters this week (in four days, but who’s counting?), and although we’ve seen plenty of footage in all the trailers and TV spots, Warner Bros. has released another preview of Zack Snyder’s superhero epic — just in case you’re feeling a bit impatient. Four minutes of B-roll footage has arrived online, offering a sneak peek at some previously unseen sequences, along with another look at the Batmobile in action and one particularly silly Laurence Fishburne.

In just one week we’ll finally get to see who will win in the fight between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel, when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters. But you don’t have to wait that long to get a new look at Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, which you can gaze upon while you listen to Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s complete score for Zack Snyder’s DC superhero epic.

There have been so many damn Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailers and teasers I’ve lost count. But this one is supposedly the final one. At least until the next one. Man I tell you, this justice is taking its sweet time dawning.