(CBR) When Warner Bros. announced in early December that Gal Gadot will become just the third actress to play Wonder Woman, a character created by William Moulton Marston in 1941, many wondered how the DC Comics heroine had been so criminally underrepresented outside of comic books. Along with Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman forms what in comics is known as DC’s Trinity, and is arguably the third most important — and powerful — character in their stable, yet Batman and Superman have starred in film and television projects since their inception.
The 1940s saw movies serials for both heroes, and in the ’50s Superman became a television staple. The ’60s were Batman’s turn to rule the small screen, but by the ’70s it was finally Wonder Woman’s time to shine with a much beloved, campy TV show that propelled the character into America’s pop culture consciousness. Since the series ended in 1979, DC and Warner Bros. have been trying to get a Wonder Woman television project off the ground with little success. “The Avengers” writer director Joss Whedon even tried his hand at spearheading a Wonder Woman film in the mid-2000s before ultimately walking away from the project. Veteran TV showrunner David E. Kelley had just a bit more success, writing and producing a “Wonder Woman” pilot starring, Adrianne Palicki, but NBC ultimately passed on the project.
Taking a cue from DC’s beloved “Elseworlds” tales that offer a glimpse into alternate realities, we ask the question of “What if…?” What if Wonder Woman had starred in films in all the decades since her creation? Who would have played the Amazon Princess in each instance? We run down the most likely candidates and imagine a world where Wonder Woman’s success extends far beyond the comic book page..