Until Gal Gadot came along, Lynda Carter was seen as the definitive live-action version of DC's most famous superheroine; probably because she was also the only live-action version. Point is, Carter made a mark on the character much the same way that Christopher Reeves did as Superman. So what do the star and director of 2017's Wonder Woman think of the actress and the vision that defined Diana of Themyscira in the '70s?
"They’re big shoes to step into," Gadot told SFX in its latest issue. "What Lynda Carter did with the character is fantastic and amazing, and I love it. The Wonder Woman that is being introduced - reintroduced - now is different [but] she has a lot of the qualities Lynda Carter brought to the Wonder Woman character of '75."
Gadot admitted that she was too young to really grasp the concept and enjoy the show back in the day, but that she still knew about Wonder Woman in the same way that even someone who has never read a comic book would know about Superman.
Meanwhile, director Patty Jenkins confessed a much deeper attachment, saying that the show "meant a lot" to her growing up, and that she has become friends with Carter since working on this new film. "I think she was such a beautiful embodiment of Wonder Woman," Jenkins said. "Kind, good, beautiful, sexy, strong, moral, all of those things. I think she was so wonderful."
Personally, I wasn't even born by the time the Wonder Woman TV show came to an end, so I don't have any real attachment to the Lynda Carter version. Still, I can understand why someone would, and why they might be hesitant about this new portrayal. It sounds like those fears are unfounded, though. "In the same way that Lynda is Wonder Woman as a person, so is Gal," Jenkins said. "They’re both utterly kind, incredibly strong people."
"I’ve said so many times, 'Gal, in the worst-case scenario, just be yourself - because you really are so true to the spirit of this character.'"
Read the full interview in the latest issue of SFX magazine, on sale now. Buy future issues here.
