Warner Bros. has made a habit of owning Saturday mornings at Comic-Con, and it feels like this year is no different. Our own Emily Rome was in the room today to bring you a report about how they rolled things out, and it sounds like Conan O”Brien was a great choice to be the host.
By far, the biggest noise they made today was with the first trailer for Wonder Woman, and congratulations to Warner for doing what fans have been asking for so loudly for so long. More than ever, I am keenly aware of the hunger that exists for representation in pop culture, and watching what happens when an audience feels included and respected is, frankly, inspirational. It reminds me of why I loved fandom when I was a kid. I spent much of my childhood reading books and watching movies that made me feel like I was alone in the world, with one or two friends who might be into the same thing. It wasn”t until my first science-fiction convention that I realized how many other people felt the same way I did. My whole life, I”ve been lucky enough to be the person who is the default in pop culture, so I”ve always been able to see myself in stories and onscreen. If it”s someone else”s turn now, it doesn”t negate all of those things I”ve read and seen, and I”m sure I”ll still see plenty of myself.
For example, Chris Pine”s got a major role in Wonder Woman, and in some ways, he”s the audience surrogate as we get introduced to the world of the Amazons. But there”s a specific exchange in the trailer that I thought was thrilling, and a real indication of what this film is up to.
STEVE: I can”t let you do this.
DIANA: What I do is not up to you.
My biggest frustration with people citing Wonder Woman as the best part of Batman v Superman was that I didn”t feel like we even got one good scene about her as a character. She looked great, and she carried herself well in that fight, but that”s it. In this one trailer, I feel like Warner Bros. has turned that around completely, and now I”m onboard. This is a hero I am excited to see come to life, and I”m even more excited knowing that there is an army of fans who had an experience for the first time today that I”ve had over and over and over. Welcome to the show, folks.
We”ll see if the film ends up delivering on that promise when Wonder Woman arrives in theaters on June 2, 2017.