Is Wonder Woman The DCEU’s Iron Man?

It’s no secret that DC Films and Warner Bros. have had a rocky road getting the DC Extended Universe up and running. Man of Steel wasn’t the universal brand launch that the studio wanted from a tried and true character like Superman; and even big event films with big A-list stars like Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad struck out with fans, even if they pulled in a respectable amount at the box office.

This summer however, the DCEU hit a major turning point with the release of Wonder Woman. As the first major female superhero film in either the DC or Marvel cinematic universes – with a relatively untested female director and relatively unknown leading lady, to boot – Wonder Woman was seen as something of a risk for DC/WB. That risk has now turned into a massive success, having earned $400 million at the domestic box office, and nearly $800 million worldwide.

As with any of these massive franchise universes, plans shift as the money expectations change. Such is the case now wiht Gal Gadots’ Wonder Woman, who is being positioned for a much bigger role in the DCEU than she may have previously had. In fact, the way things are progressing, fans are starting to question:

Is Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman Becoming The DCEU’s Iron Man?

Wonder Woman Everywhere

As it currently stands, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman will be everywhere you look in the DCEU for the next few years. 

Gadot made her first appearance as Wonder Woman in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; she had her solo movie breakout in Wonder Woman hit this year 2017; she’ll follow that by teaming up with Ben Affleck’s Batman, Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman and the rest of the Justice League in 2018; She has Wonder Woman 2 in 2019, and as Forbes revealed today, she’ll be appearing in The Flash movie Flashpoint in the next few years, along with Justice League 2, at some point.

It’s not hard to see the parallel fans are making, here: Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is beginning to be trotted out around the DCEU the way that Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man has been used in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Besides his own solo franchise, Downey has been a featured character in boht of the first two Avengers films, and has picked up part-time work helping to anchor other franchises, such as his appearance in Captain America: Civil War. 

It’s a strategy that has worked for Marvel, and it looks like Warner Bros. and DC Films are following suit with Wonder Woman. 

C-List Hero to A-List Franchi$e

As stated, building these massive superhero movie universes is far from an exact science. No one ever expected a character like Iron Man (who was never considered mainstream, or even “A-List” amongst superheroes) to become the flagship character of entire multimedia franchise universe, and a billion-dollar earner in his own right. The fact is, Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t that popular of a star at the time, and Jon Favreau wasn’t expected to be the director who would kick off the entire MCU run toward The Avengers. 

However, once Marvel saw the returns for both Downey and the Iron Man films, the studio adjusted plans, settled some ugly early contract disputes, and later found ways to pepper the character into other franchises (like Captain America) instead of doing straight up sequels to his own solo films (don’t hold your breath for that Iron Man 4). Now, DC Films seems to doing the same. 

The fact is: Wonder Woman is the breakout star of the DCEU. She’s earned the most domestically of any film in the DCEU, and has earned more (consistently) than just about any solo superhero film out – definitely one of the strongest origin story debuts of all time. That fact hasn’t gone unnoticed over at DC/WB, and now it seems that Wonder Woman will be flagship character who pushes this cinematic universe forward. 

Of course, the worry for fans is simple: oversaturation. While viewers love seeing Tony Stark’s Iron Man show up so many times in the MCU, others find it exhaustive and played out. Now, some fans will inevitably start worrying that the cash-cow that is Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman will be milked dry. However, with films like Flashpoint offering a different version of Wonder Woman for fans to meet, it seems like Gadot can last long, and live well within the DECU. 

Wonder Woman is in theaters now, and will be followed by Justice League on November 17, 2017; Aquaman on December 21, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020. Justice League 2, The Flash, The Batman, Dark Universe and Man of Steel 2 are currently without release dates.