Cast Party: Who Should Have Starred In A 1980s ‘Wonder Woman’ Movie?
Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist.
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re looking at the history of Wonder Woman. As we all know, her first theatrical film is due out later this year. But what if it wasn’t her first? What if there had been as many onscreen Wonder Women as Batmen?
So far we’ve imagined a Golden Age Wonder Woman movie, a Silver Age Wonder Girl movie, and a Bronze Age Diana Prince movie. For our final installment of the series, we're visiting the late 1980s, for post-Crisis Wonder Woman movie featuring the stars of that era.
In 1987, George Perez relaunched Wonder Woman with a very new take on her origin, supporting cast, and villains. He emphasized the mythological, making Ares her main antagonist. He also eliminated the central romance, which allowed Princess Diana to come into her own as an entirely independent woman in Man's World. That first story arc, with some cinematic tweaks, would make a fantastic big-budget 1980s action movie.
Geena Davis as Wonder Woman
DC/Warner BrosDC/Warner Bros In addition to being a major star of the era, Davis is six feet tall and has those fantastic curls, making her a perfect Perez Diana.
Julie Christie as Hippolyta
DC/New World PicturesDC/New World Pictures Christie is one of the all-time great beauties, of course, but her acting chops will also come in handy for what I think of as the first version of Hippolyta to be a fully realized character.
Harrison Ford as Steve Trevor
DC/ParamountDC/Paramount Perez's Steve is a little older, and never a love interest for Diana. He is however an action hero in his own right, and Ford was doing that sort of thing better than anyone else.
Colleen Dewhurst as Julia Kapatelis
DC/CBCDC/CBC Dewhurst played a lot of roles where she was maternal without really being traditionally feminine, which is exactly what you want for Diana's mentor and surrogate mother.
Winona Ryder as Vanessa Kapatelis
DC/New World PicturesDC/New World Pictures Ryder was building her career at the time on a series of awkward teen roles, and she would have shined as Vanessa. It's true she lacks the curly red hair, but if it's a priority you could always put her in a wig like they did for Edward Scissorhands.
Nancy Allen as Etta Candy
DC/Orion PicturesDC/Orion Pictures This version of Etta looks so much like Nancy Allen in Robocop that I kind of think it must be on purpose. In any case, Allen would certainly be perfect for the part.
Sigourney Weaver as Myndi Mayer
DC/SonyDC/Sony There are several roles in this movie (including the lead) that Weaver could handle, but I think she'd have the most fun as Mayer, Wonder Woman's outrageously glamorous publicist.
Tim Curry as Ares
DC/ParamountDC/Paramount From Legend to Stephen King's It, Curry was the go-to cosmic force for chaos and evil in this period. Hearing his distinctive voice from beneath the armor will really add to the menace of Ares.
Ronee Blakley as Decay
DC/New Line CinemaDC/New Line Cinema Blakley brought a strange off-kilter quality to every role she played. Give her some monster makeup, and she'll be terrifying as Decay.
Steve Guttenberg as Hermes
DC/FoxDC/Fox Guttenberg had the body to play a Greek God, and for all that we make fun of him these days, his bright smile and comedic sensibility will work perfectly for Hermes.
Reginald VelJohnson as Ed
DC/FoxDC/Fox Yes, it's a departure from the comics, but if I'm casting a gruff-but-friendly cop in the late '80s, don't tell me I can't cast this guy.