James Gunn's new Wonder Woman movie will differ from Gal Gadot's take on the character in one big way, according to a new insider report. Wonder Woman was a name that was noticeably absent from DC Studios' initial slate revealed back in 2023; however, that has changed in the last few months. The DCU Wonder Woman film has been picking up steam fast and has been called a priority for Warner Bros' new comic book universe.
This new Wonder Woman is going to look and sound different, though, than what has come before it on the big screen, as Gunn continues to define his take on this comic book world. Diana of Themyscira will seemingly be a pillar of the DCU going forward, standing alongside Superman and Batman in her own unique way.
Insider Jeff Sneider recently revealed on an episode of The Hot Mic what he heard about the tone of the upcoming DCU Wonder Woman movie, and it is significantly different than the Gal Gadot version of the character.
Sneider posited that James Gunn and the DC Studios brain trust are reportedly looking for something "on the lighter, brighter, more fun side," when compared to the Gadot duology of Wonder Woman films:
"My sources seem, to indicate that for 'Wonder Woman,' they are looking for somebody a little bit on the lighter, brighter, more fun side."
Like much of the DCEU, Gadot's version of the Wonder Woman character was known for being hyper serious, taking on a darker overall tone, especially during her appearances in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
In cameos in films like Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Gadot's Diana showed a lighter side to her comic book hero, but that was long after the character's DC tenure had already been defined by the DCEU's dark tonal milieu.
Notably, Gunn's 2025 Superman film veered away from this serious tone for something a little more twee. It seems as though that trend will not stop with the Man of Steel, and James Gunn's new Wonder Woman will undergo a similar transformation.
The DCU Wonder Woman movie has no publicly known casting or release information, but development on the project is moving fast (especially after not having been announced until a couple of months ago). Supergirl scribe Ana Nogueira will pen the script to the new Wonder Woman film, and a director has not yet been revealed for the project.
Why Is James Gunn Changing Wonder Woman?
Coming into the DCU, Wonder Woman was one of the characters from the now-defunct DCEU to whom many fans had attached themselves. In fact, her first solo film, 2017's Wonder Woman, still stands as the best-reviewed movie of the entire DCEU era. So, why change her?
Well, like the other heroes it is introducing, the DCU needs to put its stamp on a character like Wonder Woman and distinguish her from what has come before. So, James Gunn and the DC Studios team will do this by injecting a bit of fun into the character for the new on-screen franchise.
This lightening and brightening could actually be for the best, especially for fans who loved particular moments of the Gal Gadot Wonder Woman tenure.
Sure, Gadot's take on the character came to be known as this darker version of the hero (largely thanks to the universe she inhabited), but some of the best moments of her in the DCEU, which were primarily reserved to that first Wonder Woman film, saw her stand in the sunshine just a little bit in a franchise that was so dominated by dreary raincloud storytelling.
Now take that heart-on-the-sleeve energy that Gunn honed in on in Superman and coat Wonder Woman in it entirely for her DCU appearance, and it could be pure magic.
That does not mean the character will not go through scary times or experience tonally dark or morose things, but an injection of heart could be precisely what the character needs on-screen.
