Is The New Wonder Woman "Too Skinny"?

When Gal Gadot was first announced as having been cast as Wonder Woman in ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ back in December 2013, perhaps the most common complaint to be made right away - aside from the relative unfamiliarity of the ‘Fast & Furious’ actress - was that she was far too thin for the role.

It seemed the Israeli model and actress did not fit every fan’s expectations for what the Amazonian warrior princess should look like, with many calling out for the casting of a more muscular actress such as former mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano.

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These complaints did not fall on deaf ears, with statements soon coming out of the Warner Bros/DC production that Gadot was entering into a strict workout schedule designed to get her fighting fit for the role.

Now, almost 15 months later, it is believed that Gadot has completed work on ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ with production on the ‘Wonder Woman’ solo movie due to start this autumn. However, these new photographs of Gadot shared by Comic Book Movie (originating from blog Nana10) have left many fans questioning whether the promised transformation has indeed occurred.

For reference, the picture at the top was taken at a ‘Fast & Furious 6’ premiere in May 2013, whilst the others were posted online this week (although this does not confirm when they were taken).

While CBM writer Josh Wilding praises Gadot’s “toned figure,” declaring she “most definitely” looks the part, many commentators both on CBM and their Facebook page are less convinced - and many are a great deal less than flattering.

Comments include “She looks the same,” “She looks like a child could break her. Definitely not strong like an Amazon,” and “People demand Bale gets into shape for Batman, that’s fine. People demand a woman puts on more muscle mass for a muscular role, and it’s “body shaming!!!” … double standard BS.” (All these comments came from women, we might add.)

However, not everyone agrees, with another Facebook comment arguing, “Wonder Woman is not always drawn to be a body builder. Her strength comes from the gods not gold’s gym.”

There also remain a great many more crass remarks - again, from members of both sexes - in relation to Gadot’s comparative flat-chestedness.

It does seem fair to say that, in comparison with the physical transformations that such actors as Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Gadot’s co-star Henry Cavill have undergone for their respective superhero roles, the future Wonder Woman’s does not appear so drastically different.

It’s even come to light that Jared Leto is gaining weight for his role as The Joker in ‘Suicide Squad’ - and this is not a character we tend to associate with big muscles.

However, do we - or should we - necessarily expect female superheroes to beef up quite so dramatically? It has been argued that popular notions of what constitutes an ideal female body type lean toward a stronger, athletic physique, though not necessarily at bodybuilder levels of musculature.

Then, of course, there is the not inconsiderable role of costume - and to date we have seen only one image of Gadot in full Wonder Woman regalia:

This, as far as we’re concerned, certainly looks like a strong woman who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Batman, Superman, Aquaman and co.

But perhaps above all else, it would seem rather premature to cast aspersions on Gadot’s Wonder Woman given that we haven’t seen a second of her in action, nor heard her speak so much as a word of dialogue in the role just yet. Rather significant factors, we hope you’ll agree.

We still have just over a year until ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’ hits cinemas on 25 March 2016, and just over 14 months after that the ‘Wonder Woman’ solo movie arrives on 23 June 2017, so we still have quite the wait before we really see how Gal Gadot fares as Wonder Woman - and w have little doubt the debate will continue to rage in the meantime.

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Picture Credit: WENN, Nana10, Warners/DC