Umm, that no-man’s-land scene almost didn’t make the cut.
1. Gal Gadot was pregnant during shooting.
When the movie went back for reshoots, Gadot was five months pregnant. The production team worked around it by putting green fabric — essentially a green screen — in front of her belly.
2. General Erich Ludendorff was an actual historical figure.
Ludendorff was a general in the German army during WWI. However, he met a very different fate than in the movie, as he resigned and fled to Sweden after a failed offensive.
3. Gadot had no clue what she was auditioning for at first. All she knew was that it was a “secret” role.
Basically, director Zack Snyder invited her in for a camera test, and she read the lines she was given.
4. Chris Pine improvised some of that awkwardly adorable boat scene.
Warner Bros.
In her Reddit AMA, Patty Jenkins revealed that Pine improvised Steve’s clarifying speech about not being an “average man.”
5. The movie is banned in Lebanon due to the country’s conflict with Israel.
Gadot, who is Israeli, served in Israel’s military and spoke out against Hamas in a 2014 Facebook post.
6. Director Patty Jenkins had to fight for that no-man’s-land scene to make the cut.
Jenkins apparently had to argue with some execs for the scene to happen. “It’s my favorite scene in the movie and it’s the most important scene in the movie,” Jenkins said in an interview with Fandango. “It’s also the scene that made the least sense to other people going in, which is why it’s a wonderful victory for me.”
7. Want to know why Themyscira was so beautiful? Those scenes were shot on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
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The production team apparently considered more than 47 locations before they settled on the Amalfi Coast, along the Mediterranean.
8. During shooting for the Themyscira scenes, some of the Amazon actresses’ husbands would show up on set to support them.
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9. Gadot trained six hours a day for six months in preparation for the role, gaining 17 pounds of muscle.
In addition to weight lifting, Gadot had a rigorous schedule that included lessons in fight choreography, swordplay, and horseback riding.
10. Gadot describes Wonder Woman’s fighting style as a mix of martial arts called “WonderFu.”
11. The Amazons were trained by the same people who worked on 300.
Warner Bros.
According to Connie Nielsen, who played Queen Hippolyta, the women playing Amazon roles would “have 3,000 calories a day, and then do two hours of weightlifting, two hours of swordplay, and two hours of horseback riding.”
12. Wonder Woman’s origin was originally set during WWII in the comics, but was changed to WWI for the movie.
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The film’s creators decided that it would be a more interesting backdrop as there was less of a clear-cut, good vs. evil narrative, and felt that the spread of nationalism at the time had strong parallels to the current political climate.
13. There are two other Amazons in the movie who have been Wonder Woman at some point in the comics.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Ann Wolfe, a famous boxer, plays Artemis. Martial artist and stunt actor Mayling Ng plays Orana. Both characters have taken on the mantle of Wonder Woman in the comics at some point.
14. The scene where Diana protects Steve from a bullet in an alleyway is a nod to Richard Donner’s Superman.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
In the 1978 movie, Superman (dressed as Clark Kent) protects Lois Lane by catching a bullet with his hand. Here, Wonder Woman (dressed as Diana Prince) protects Steve Trevor by blocking a bullet with her wrist.
15. That ice cream moment came straight from Justice League #3, published in 2013.
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16. Prior to getting the role of Wonder Woman, Gadot considered giving up acting.
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17. Patty Jenkins says that Gadot was the one on set who would break character and laugh the most.
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