James Gunn has shot down rumors that Adria Arjona is the new Wonder Woman. The co-head of DC Studios was following the Hit Man actress on Instagram, leading fans to speculate (and hope) the actress could be the new Diana Prince. Sadly, Gunn denied that and claims he has been following the star for numerous years.
In a new interview with Extra, he explained that he followed Arjona after she appeared in 2016's The Belko Experiment.
“We’ve been friends and have known each other since that time. I followed her then, I didn’t just follow her. People just notice these things all the time.”
Gunn did admit that Adria would be a great Wonder Woman. The American actress recently appeared in Andor playing Bix Caleen. She has also had roles in Morbius, 6 Underground, and Blink Twice. In an interview from earlier this year, she was asked about fans casting her as Wonder Woman.
“I love James Gunn,” Arjona said in the interview with CinemaBlend in April. “He gave me my first movie ever, which was like my first studio movie, so I owe him a lot.” She crossed her fingers when she admitted he had no idea if his following her would mean she would land the role as the iconic Amazonian superhero.
Wonder Woman was played on screen by Gal Gadot. She first starred in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, then in two Wonder Woman movies from director Patty Jenkins, as well as a Justice League movie, and cameos in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash. It doesn’t look like Gadot will be returning to the golden lasso. When James Gunn took over DC Studios, he decided to recast the role as part of his whole DC Universe reboot. The third Wonder Woman film to star Gadot was cancelled during his takeover, with reports claiming the treatment didn’t fit in with the new studio head's vision for the franchise.
Rather than dwell on losing the role, Gadot said that the cancellation of her third Wonder Woman film “empowered” her.
“The fact that I don’t have to sit still at home and just wait for the next offer is something that makes me feel empowered,” Gadot told Total Film. She added that she was looking to mix doing her own projects with working as “an actress-for hire,” and was excited to work on stories she was “passionate” about.
While Gadot isn’t returning and Arjona hasn’t been cast in Wonder Woman, the superhero will appear again the DC universe. "We're working on Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman's being written right now," he told Entertainment Weekly.
The announced Paradise Lost series is still in development for HBO Max, but Gunn admits the production process is “slow moving, but it’s moving.” The show will be set in Themyscira, home of the Amazons and birthplace of Wonder Woman. According to reports, the drama will focus on the creation and political intrigue of an island full of powerful women.
While DC fans wait for the official Wonder Woman casting news, we get our first look at the new DC Universe with the upcoming Superman movie. Directed by James Gunn, it stars David Corenswet (Pearl) as Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Ms. Maisel) as Lois Lane.
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