James Gunn, co-CEO of DC Studios, is a creative genius and storyteller. He has single-handedly reinvented Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy property into a worldwide franchise phenomenon, propelling Chris Pratt (Star-lord) into a bona fide “in demand” A-list action star! He is a fantastic writer and director of other superhero projects, such as DC's The Suicide Squad and the Peacemaker series, which further solidifies how his witty, yet grounded-in-realism take on the human side of being a hero or an anti-hero resonates with critics and fans around the world.
And now our Saturn Award winner for Best Director (Guardians of the Galaxy) has his sights on doing the same for Wonder Woman in the wake of the rebooted DCU launch of the soon-to-be-released Superman. Gunn recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly and confirmed that a new DCU Wonder Woman movie is alive and well by saying this:
“We’re working on Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman’s being written right now.”
When James Gunn and Peter Safran became co-heads of DC Studios, the Wonder Woman projects with Gal Gadot were canceled, leaving the role of the new DCU's Wonder Woman to be cast. Gunn has yet to choose an actress to portray his vision for Wonder Woman. That journey may be ongoing (given his attention to DC canon) when considering that in DC comics Wonder Woman (Diana Prince) is a 6-foot-tall Amazonian demigod, who is vertically immortal by the divine gift of life from her father, Zeus - the King of the Greek Gods.
Diana is from a hidden (somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea) "Paradise Island" called Themyscira and was raised by the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. Wonder Woman possesses superhuman strength, enhanced speed, agility, and durability, flight, and healing recovery abilities faster than a human, and is a master of weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. She also wields the Lasso of Hestia, the "Lasso of Truth", that compels those bound to speak the truth. Diana also has magical armaments, such as her indestructible bracelets, tiara, and the Sword of Hephaestus.
Regardless of Gunn’s decision to go in the direction of a Golden Age, Silver Age, or a Modern Era or otherwise interpretation of Wonder Women - there are many talented actresses to choose from, and here are five that could certainly wield the Lasso of Hestia like an Amazonian princess, and whom are all young enough to sustain the continuity of multiple movies and have the height to embody the stature of DC's Wonder Woman.
1. Diana Silver
Born in Los Angeles to parents of Swiss and Romanian heritage, Ms. Silver began her professional career as a teen model while attending New York University. However, her attention soon turned to acting as she was cast in her first role in an episode of Hulu's anthology horror series Into the Dark (2018), as a troubled teen struggling to uncover that her father (portrayed by Dermot Mulroney) is a serial killer. Diana's nuanced performance was incredible, and other roles soon followed.
Diana is best known for her roles in the pseudo-superhero thriller Glass (2019) by writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, the horror film Ma (2019), and the Netflix comedy series Space Force (2020-2022), where she portrayed the unimpressed daughter (Erin) of General Naird (portrayed by Steve Carell) who was the first Chief of Space Operations to the newly commissioned branch of the armed forces - Space Force.
Silver is used to training intensely for a role as he underwent intensive ballet training for her role in Amazon's Birds of Paradise (2021), building upon her childhood dance training. She portrayed Kate Sander, a fiercely competitive student vying for a spot at the Opera National de Paris. It is this kind of intense depth, determination, and emotion that she would certainly need to rely on to portray a convincing Wonder Woman.
At 5’10”, Diana has the physical stature and ironically her [Wonder Women's] namesake to embody the Themysciraian native - Diana Prince. Should Gunn decide to envision a modern interpretation of Wonder Woman, Silver would be an excellent choice to portray a 21st-century Amazonia princess with demigod powers and a moral fortitude for truth and justice, enforced with her Bracelets of Submission.
2. Ella Balinska
Ella is an English actress with a background of Polish and Caribbean heritage from her parents, musician/entrepreneur Kaz Balinski-Jundzill, and chef/author Lorraine Pascale. Ella is a former athlete competing at the national level in London in javelin throwing for Team London.
Balinska obtained her Bachelor of Arts in acting from the prestigious Guildford School of Acting (2021). She is best known for her role as an Angel alongside Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott in Charlie’s Angels (2019). She also starred in the live-action Netflix series Resident Evil (2022), as well as a leading role in the sci-fi thriller The Occupant, where she portrayed Abby, who has to survive alone in the snow-capped mountains of southern Georgia after a mysterious helicopter crash.
Should Gunn decide to create a DC comic version of Wonder Woman as "Absolute Wonder Woman”, then she [Ella] could certainly pull off a more fierce, dark magic version of Diana Prince.
In the Absolute Universe version of Wonder Woman, Diana Prince was stolen as an infant by Apollo and raised in Hell by the sorceress Circe. In this brutal, magical underworld, Diana was taught dark magic to cast spells, manipulate energy, and even had powers of transformation, such as changing into Medusa. Additionally, her Lasso of Truth is now the Lasso of Transformation.
It is unlikely Gunn would move forward with this dark version of Wonder Woman, given his more heroic and uplifting take on Superman. However, it could be an interesting version to pursue, as Balinska has the physicality and acting prowess to portray whatever version of Wonder Woman Gunn decides, albeit dark or otherwise.
3. Sophie Turner
Although Sophie has portrayed Jean Grey/Phoenix in previous X-Men movies that are not connected to Kevin Feige’s current MCU – there have been several actors who have portrayed characters in both Marvel and DC Universes. As such, I will include Turner in this list of potential actresses who could be James Gunn’s Wonder Woman.
Ms. Turner is certainly no stranger to sci-fi/fantasy and action movies as she is best known for her role as Sansa Stark in the HBO series Games of Thrones (2011-2019). Sophie is certainly an in-demand actress as she is currently filming and starring as Lara Croft in a series adaptation of the video game Tomb Raider.
Sophie is a gifted English actress who earned a supporting actress Emmy nomination (2019) for her role in Games of Thrones. She has been acting in movies since she was thirteen years old. Sophie obtained her education and acting training in Chesterton, Warwickshire, where she attended Warwick Prep School and later The King’s High School for Girls.
Ms. Turner seemed destined to portray a highborn noblewoman and later as an Omega-Level mutant with cosmic-level telepathy and telekinesis powers. Sophie's acting ability to play a strong young noblewoman, yet with depth and vulnerability, would be a perfect combination for Gunn – should he decide to develop a Golden Age version of Woman Woman.
Created in the 1940s, DC Golden Age Wonder Woman was a feminist icon who was compassionate, intelligent, and fiercely independent. This WWII heroine often won the day through love and empathy rather than brute force, as she regularly sought to reform villains rather than defeat them. Golden Age Wonder Woman was a symbol of female empowerment, grace, and endurance, and Sophie's regal demeanor and classic 1940s style with a modern flair would be ideal to portray this original version of the Wonder Woman we know today.
4. Maya Hawke
Maya certainly has the acting pedigree with her powerhouse acting parents. The 4-time Oscar-nominated Ethan Hawke (including one for the best-adapted screenplay), and Oscar-nominated Uma Thurman (director Quinton Tarantino's longtime muse). Maya is best known for her role as Robin Buckley on the Netflix supernatural hit Stranger Things (2019-2025). She has been racking up acting credits since her debut role (at 19 years old) as Jo March in the miniseries Little Women (2017).
The Saturn Award winner (2019) for Best Supporting Actress for Stranger Things has lent her voiceover talents to the role of "Anxiety" in Pixar’s animated movie Inside Out 2 (2024). Maya shined as the prim and earnest schoolteacher as June Douglas in Wes Anderson's quirky masterpiece Asteroid City (2023) - especially during her country-inspired waltz scene with co-star Rupert Friend.
Hawke has a unique ability to convincingly transform herself within a character, so much so, that you no longer see her, but just the persona she's portraying. I suspect it's her training from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, as well as the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York, and her brief stint at Juilliard School.
Maya has the range, youthfulness, and versatility to play Diana Prince as a teen and as an adult, depending on Gunn's direction for Wonder Woman with backstories or flashbacks. That could be an opportunity for unique storytelling, not needing to cast a younger actress. Additionally, Maya has the physicality and endurance as she has acted in physically demanding roles before in author R.L. Stine’s film adaptation, Fear Street: Part One (2021). Not to mention that Tarantino has admitted if he did Kill Bill 3, he’d love to cast Maya as Bebe (Uma’s daughter in the Kill Bill films).
If Tarantino has confidence in Maya to handle herself around a samurai sword, vengeful ninjas, and assassins - it is likely she could certainly wield the Sword of Hephaestus as Wonder Woman.
5. Kaia Gerber
Kaia is the model/actress daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman/entrepreneur Rande Gerber. Kaia's classical features have successfully propelled her through the world of modeling, as is often the case, led to the natural progression to acting.
Ms. Gerber has been earning acting gigs since she was thirteen and she has amassed an impressive resume with roles on Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story series (2021) and a fantastic run as a young socialite on Apple TV+ dramedy series Palm Royale, starring alongside comedic giants like Carol Burnett, and Kristen Wiig.
In the dark comedy horror Shell (2024), Ms. Gerber co-starred with Kate Hudson and Elisabeth Moss, and during an interview with Collider, she talked about how she prepared for the role of Chloe by offering this:
"…She felt like a great challenge for me because, you know I, I wanted her to be so much in contrast to Lizz's [Elisabeth Moss] character…um but you also need to love her, and you need to care about her…"
I commend Kaia's dedication to her craft, as she aims to evoke empathy from the audience and ensure her performance has a lasting impact. That's really all a film creator could want from an actress, regardless of film genre. I am confident Kaia could do the same in the role of Wonder Woman.
Although Kaia is likely the least experienced actress on this list, in terms of action/adventure films, she has appeared in Halle Berry's sci-fi disaster film, Moonfall (2022). Additionally, she landed the lead role in the upcoming serial killer/thriller in the FX series, The Shards – adapted by Ryan Murphy from the novel of the same name by American Psycho author, Bret Easton Ellis.
Kaia could be an interesting choice for Gunn as Wonder Woman if he were keen on the notion of guiding, developing, and coaching an actress into delivering whatever vision he has in mind for this DCU reboot. And given her age and versatility, Kaia could certainly play a young as well as an adult Diana Prince. A clear advantage, depending on Gunn's direction for the movie.
James Gunn is overseeing the cinematic development of his reimagined DCU, which will likely lead to the creation of a new DCU Justice League; However, with only Superman (David Corenswet) cast to this point and likely excluding Robert Pattinson's universe, according to Gunn - that leaves a roster of heroes left to cast, including Wonder Woman. Of course, this is assuming Gunn will develop some version of DC's original founding members of the Justice League of America based on their first appearance in "The Brave and the Bold" issue #28 (1960).
Gunn is likely taking his time casting Wonder Woman, and for good reason – he wants to get it right and he wants to blow our minds with an incredible story and the perfect actress to portray Diana Prince. Given what's at stake and Gunn's high standards, he's likely placed on himself - any one of these 5 gifted actresses listed could be a formidable Amazon Warrior poised to ensure truth, justice, peace, and compassion!