Wonder Woman trailer, costume, cast, poster, and everything you need to know

Fast Facts:

Wonder Woman release date: June 2, 2017
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya, Lucy Davis, Ewen Bremner
Writer: Jason Fuchs

The Wonder Woman movie will bring Diana Prince’s origin story to the silver screen

$65-105 million. That's the predicted opening weekend takings for the long-awaited Wonder Woman movie, and the $40million differential within those numbers suggests even the experts have no real idea how it'll fare. What's not in doubt is that this solo adventure is welcome, and overdue. If you thought Princess Diana was the best thing about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, you’ll be getting a much heftier dose of the superhero from June 2 onwards.

Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, and the rest of the cast – including Spud from Trainspotting! – wrapped filming in May 2016, leaving director Patty Jenkins to make the magic happen in the editing room. Since then, we’ve had multiple trailers, a kick-ass poster, and plenty of time to get our hopes up. Read everything we know about the Wonder Woman movie below; fingers crossed this will be the female superhero movie we’ve all been waiting for.

The Wonder Woman release date has been brought forward

We were originally scheduled to see Diana Prince take to the silver screen on June 23, 2017, but Warner Bros. moved the date forward in April 2016, announcing that fans would get to see the superhero in action a whole three weeks earlier on June 2, 2017. It’s not that unusual for movie release dates to shift around, but it bodes well that it’s been brought forward. Obviously DC and Warner Bros. are feeling pretty confident about their newest addition to the DC Extended Universe so you should be too.

Wonder Woman trailer proclaims that "fighting does not make you a hero"

Inevitably, the final Wonder Woman trailer is a badass one – but perhaps its biggest surprise is the opening line. It shows Diana as a young girl, being advised that "fighting does not make you a hero" by her mother, Queen Hippolyta – followed by two minutes of horse riding, wall climbing, and exemplary shield play. The intensity is eased with a couple of comedy moments – while trying on a stuffy outfit Gadot complains "how can a women fight in this?", in a callback to that opening line – and overall it teases action and heart in a way that'll convince you this is one to see on the big screen.

Want to see all the previous Wonder Woman trailers too? Oh go on then...

The minds behind Wonder Women have paced their PR campaign smartly. For instance, the SDCC Wonder Woman trailer (above) introduces us to the mysterious world of Themyscira and the Amazonians who live there, but the follow-up (below) shows Diana Prince taking up her sacred duty to defend the world – by reflecting bullets with her bracelets, whipping the Lasso of Truth around, and generally kicking various forms of ass.

Wonder Woman’s poster is subtle but striking

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Not content with releasing the first trailer for Wonder Woman at SDCC 2016, Warner Bros. also released the first poster (above) which features a striking silhouette of the woman herself. There's been other cool imagery, too. Let’s not forget this strong picture of Princess Diana in her Amazonian armour, with her mother Queen Hippolyta and aunts General Antiope and Melanippe.

Keep clicking through the gallery to see every Wonder Woman poster released (so far). Oh, and only one features someone other than the hero herself.

Wonder Woman’s story will take us back in time

Get ready for a shocker - Wonder Woman's big screen solo debut will focus on her origin story. Suffering Sappho! But in this case, that's actually pretty appropriate, as the beginning of Wonder Woman's story isn't nearly as ubiquitous and well-known as those of her partners in the Justice League.

Plus, the story of Princess Diana's birth and early life has changed dramatically over the years, so it would be useful to know just what iteration of Wonder Woman we're dealing with by the time the Justice League movie rolls around. According to Gal Gadot, at this point in her life Diana is "more naive and pure and she’s this young idealist who does not understand the complexities of men and life".

The origins trailer below drops some big hints about the story's direction. One key line is "she must never know the truth about what she is", which seemingly tallies with canon for the original Wonder Woman – where Diana was brought to life by bonding the soul of an unborn child to a baby sculpted from clay.

To supplement that, here's the official synopsis:

“Wonder Woman’ hits movie theaters around the world next summer when Gal Gadot returns as the title character in the epic action adventure from director Patty Jenkins. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers… and her true destiny.”

The Wonder Woman cast is full of strong female stars

After proving to be the shining beacon of greatness in an otherwise lackluster Batman v Superman, Gal Godot will reprise her role as Wonder Woman in the solo film. She'll basically have to work backwards from playing an experienced, self-assured version of Diana to one who is just getting her feet under her.

She's joined by Connie Nielson as Queen Hippolyta, Diana's mother and ruler of the Amazonians; Robin Wright as Diana's aunt General Antiope; Lisa Loven Kongsli as her other aunt Melanippe; and Chris Pine as Diana's first love/first man she's ever seen Steve Trevor (the word from preview screenings is that he steals the show despite a strong lead performance from Gadot).

Two curious British names also feature. Lucy Davis, best known as Dawn from The Office, pops up as Steve Trevor's secretary Etta Candy. And Ewen Bremner – yes, Spud from Transpotting – plays World War 1 soldier Charlie.

How exactly these characters will be put to use is still in question - given how regularly they've been re-imagined over the last few decades, they could all be involved in a wide variety of plots and still remain true to their comic selves. Etta alone has gone from sassy sorority sister, to Wonder Woman understudy, to a highly trained intelligence officer since Wonder Woman's first issue, and half the time she and Steve are more interested in each than the Amazonian goddess.

In addition, Antiope famously falls from grace when she trusts the wrong man, ultimately ending in her death long before Diana was even born. Chances are some liberties are being taken with the Wonder Woman canon here, but we'll have to wait to see how many.

As for the baddies of the movie? Read on...

Wonder Woman's villain leaked at Toyfair, of all places

DC multiverse #wonderwomanmovie action figures. Ares is build-a-figure #ToyFair2017 #tfny pic.twitter.com/mq4ywUEqigFebruary 19, 2017

For a time Warner Bros. did an excellent job of keeping the main villain under wraps. That all changed at Toyfair in February, when the first image of big bad Ares leaked – as an action figure. A hugely imposing one too, with bulky armour and bones protruding from his helmet. He'll certainly be a tough match for half-sister Diana. In series lore, Zeus created the Amazons in order to protect the world from wayward son Ares, only to be murdered by the latter. Bloodthirsty to the point of killing daddy, and thousands of years old? Yep, pretty sure he's going to be an utter dastard.

What's less clear is who is playing him. Harry Potter actor David Thewlis was initially tabbed for the role by various sites, but the name of his character has since been revealed as Allied war councillor Sir Patrick Morgan – a force for peace. Meaning the only way it can be Thewlis is if there's an Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious heel turn in the works.

Instead, it's more likely that Ares is the even more sinister alter-ago of Erich Ludendorff, played by Danny Huston. He's a rogue German general looking to use his power for personal gain. With a Nazi army at his behest, that's likely to trigger some big battles.

Working in tandem for Huston's Ludendorff is Spanish actress Elena Anaya, as Maru AKA Doctor Poison – as suggested in an early trailer. Ludendorff wants her to create a gas that can be dropped across Europe, killing millions and expediting his rise to power in the process. “It's a small role in this big ensemble, but it is an important character in the story," she told Batman News.

Wonder Woman director is getting another shot at a superhero movie

For a while it seemed like the directorial chair for Wonder Woman came with a revolving door attached - Joss Whedon and Michelle MacLaren both left the project due to ‘creative differences’ - but finally, in April 2015, Patty Jenkins officially took on the project.

If that name sounds familiar, it should. In addition to her work on the likes of Monster and Arrested Development (the two most different things ever committed to film), Jenkins was also the original person tapped to direct Thor 2 before she left (or was asked to leave, depending on who you believe) over, you guessed it, ‘creative differences’. That didn't sit well with actress Natalie Portman, who allegedly only agreed to reprise her role as Jane Foster specifically for the chance to work with Jenkins.

So, tallying that up, Jenkins has an impressive directorial background, valuable experience with stories about women, the respect of talented actors, and firsthand knowledge of what it takes to direct a superhero film. That's a pretty exciting list of qualifications, so it'll be interesting to see what she does with them when it comes to Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman’s costume has had a serious upgrade

Like pretty much all modern superhero movies, Wonder Woman’s costume needed a serious upgrade for her cinematic debut. The original costume, while certainly jazzy, doesn’t exactly scream modern crime-fighting female hero. Everyone held their breath as Warner Bros. released the first image of Wonder Woman from Batman v Superman and then let it out quietly when it turned out that her costume hadn’t changed too much.

The main difference was in the colour pallette. While Wonder Woman’s costume has changed a lot over her comic book years, it’s always been very red, white, and blue… like a certain other, *cough* Cap *cough*, superhero we know. However, her BvS incarnation went for a more grungy bronze look, while keeping most of the other aspects of her look.

If you thought this was the look you were going to get for her solo outing though, you were wrong, as the trailer revealed that those patriotic colours are back. While the hues have been toned down for this 2017 incarnation, they’re definitely still there. The only thing I can think is that between the solo movie and BvS, Diana Prince’s costume must have tarnished from its long years in the back of her closet after she abandoned mankind. Maybe it just needs a really good dusting...

The Wonder Woman comics will help you understand her origins

If you want to get reacquainted (or just acquainted if you’re a comics newbie) with the Wonder Woman comics, we’ve picked five essential Wonder Woman stories to get you started.

The Circle: Fan fave writer Gail Simone kickstarted her run in style. The Circle finds Wonder Woman struggling with a lack of powers when she’s in her secret identity, but still taking on – and beating – a gang of superhuman Nazis.

Eyes of the Gorgon: Diana must deal with Medusa and a coup on Mount Olympus in a storyline that plays up the mythological elements of Wonder Woman’s backstory, while also emphasising her wisdom.

JLA: A League of One: A one-shot that sees Diana forced to (non-lethally!) neutralise her teammates in the Justice League for their own safety. Batman? Superman? Green Lantern? Flash? All come up against her and all fall.

Down to Earth: Diana publishes a book espousing her peaceful philosophy – and is immediately thrown into conflict. Politically engaged, true to Marston’s original conception of the character but still exciting, this is a cracker.

The Wonder Woman Chronicles: Not a single story, but an essential collection of the very earliest tales. Marston (in his pseudonym, Charles Moulton) and his collaborators bring sheer wild invention, and not a little lunacy, to Diana’s first adventures.