Wonder Woman’s Most Important Scene Almost Wasn't Filmed

CBR

Wonder Woman's Most Important Scene Nearly Didn't Happen

By Geoff Miller

Published Jun 5, 2017

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins reveals how "No Man's Land" on the page wasn't as easy a sell as one might expect.

Wonder Woman dominated the box office this weekend as it launched to a $100 million debut. But while Warner Bros. is surely pleased by the film's commercial success, the studio probably views the movie's critical response as the biggest victory. Fans and reviewers alike have praised Diana Prince's solo foray for its strong performances, intense action sequences and overall heartfelt nature.

One scene in the film that encapsulates all of the above is Diana Prince's heroic, destined to be iconic trek through No Man's Land. Surrounded by soldiers hunkered down in trenches on both sides of the conflict, Wonder Woman takes the fight directly to the opposition. As her unflinching resolve in the face of enemy fire inspires all of the men behind her to action, the scene marks the character's transition from warrior to hero.

Many have cited the emotional scene as the film's most powerful moment, including Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. “It’s my favorite scene in the movie and it's the most important scene in the movie,” Jenkins revealed in an interview with Fandango.

Surpisingly, the sequence was harder to sell to studio execs than one might imagine. “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,” Jenkins said. “I think that in superhero movies, they fight other people, they fight villains. So when I started to really hunker in on the significance of No Man's Land, there were a couple people who were deeply confused, wondering, like, ‘Well, what is she going to do? How many bullets can she fight?’ And I kept saying, ‘It's not about that. This is a different scene than that. This is a scene about her becoming Wonder Woman.’”

Jenkins decided to personally develop a storyboard to reinforce the scene's importance, and explained her pitch regarding how paramount No Man's Land was for Diana's development. "It's about her," Jenkins explained. “We're not angry at the Germans. We don't care about the Germans and neither does she. This is what she needs to do to get across [No Man’s Land], and so it's about her. I take deep gratification that, ultimately, all of us together were able to turn it into that scene. It was always the most important scene in the movie to me in that it is the birth of Wonder Woman.”

In theaters now, Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as Diana, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Robin Wright as General Antiope, Danny Huston as General Erich Ludendorff, David Thewlis as Sir Patrick, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, Elena Anaya as Doctor Poison and Lucy Davis as Etta Candy.