Move over, boys. There’s a new woman hero at the box office. Variety reports that the new Wonder Woman film, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, “is looking at a $100.5 million domestic opening weekend from 4,165 locations. That, combined with an international take of $122.5 million from 55 markets gives the movie a global opening of $223 million. $18.3 million of the global total came from Imax screens — that’s the third biggest opening for a DC Comics film behind The Dark Knight Rises and ahead of Suicide Squad.” Hell. Yes.
In celebration of all things Wonder Woman, here’s a look at some of the most insightful quotes about the DC Comics character from the women who played her on the big and small screens, and from the comic book world. Get inspired, below.
Gal Gadot
“Wonder Woman, she’s amazing. I love everything that she represents and everything that she stands for. She’s all about love and compassion and truth and justice and equality, and she’s a whole lot of woman.”
“At the end of the day, Wonder Woman is a peace seeker. But when fight arrives, she can fight. She’s a warrior, and she enjoys the adrenaline of the fight.”
“What’s so lovely about Wonder Woman is yes, she has the strength and power of a goddess, but she has the heart and mind of a human. So I play her as I think a woman like me would act in the situations she’s going through. You treat her as a normal woman who happens to be fantastic and almighty.”
“I represent the ‘Wonder Woman’ of the new world.”
“Wonder Woman is a fighter, better than most, but it’s what she fights for that is important. It’s her vision of a future of peace and acceptance that makes her the right ambassador for everyone.”
“Wonder Woman is a feminist, of course. I think people have a misconception about what feminism is. People think hairy armpits and women who burn bras and hate men. That’s not it. For me, feminism is all about equality and freedom and [women] choosing what we want to do. If it’s salaries, then we get paid equal to men. It’s not men vs. women or women vs. men.”
“It was important to me that my character would never come and preach about how men should treat women. Or how women should perceive themselves. It was more about playing oblivious to society’s rules. ‘What do you mean women can’t go into the Parliament? Why?,’ It’s just reminding everyone how things should be. I wanted to play the fish out of water, but I didn’t want to play her too silly.”
“I am definitely a feminist. I think all of us should be feminists. You know, I’m here because of this movement of the women that made sure that I can have a career, and I can choose when I want to have a baby, and what I want to wear, and you know. But I think that there’s such misunderstanding about what it means to be a feminist. Because people think that when you are a feminist, then you hate men. And you’re this bitter woman that has you know, burn your bra. And it’s not about men versus women or women versus men. For me, feminism is all about equality and freedom and choice. So yes, definitely I am a feminist. And I think that Wonder Woman is the most iconic feminist character ever.”
Lynda Carter
“I’ll tell you…why Wonder Woman worked. Or Bionic Woman. Or any of those [shows] really. It was because it wasn’t about brawn…it was about brains. And yes, she happened to be beautiful, she happened to be kind of extraordinary in some way, but she wasn’t a guy. And I think that, [now], they…put out a female hero, and all they are doing is changing the costume from a man to a woman…they’re not showcasing any of the tremendous dichotomies than women possess in term of softness and toughness, sweetness and grit, inner and outer strength.”
“Wonder Woman struck a chord that no one expected.”
“When I got Wonder Woman I made a couple of decisions. The first one was that I wanted to discover who she was, not what her powers were, not what the storyline was or whether it was a Nazi or whatever kind of bad guy there was, but really who she is. And in reading all the research and how they came up with the character way back in the ’40’s, it was to give girls their own hero so that it wasn’t just Batman and Superman and all the rest of them that were out there during World War II. She came from an island where all the woman could do the same things, and she had to compete against her sisters, her fellow Amazonians and so it was her will in going against her mother which we can all identify with when you’re a teenager or whatever, not wanting to do what your mom wants you to do necessarily. So it gave me the idea that she was a real force and that she had her own ideas about things, and she didn’t think that she was all that. She just really saw a need like so many women do and I’ve discovered that the archetype of Wonder Woman really lives in all of us. She had the goddess within. It’s who we really are. That secret self that yearns to be out and that we hope is appreciated and even if it isn’t we still do what do.”
“Wonder Woman taught women to be who you are. I have received the greatest letters from people telling me what an inspiration she was to them because she represents an inner strength every woman has.”