This week brings us the long-awaited arrival of the first ever Wonder Woman movie—a film some of us having been looking forward to for months, some for decades, and some for nigh on five millennia. Yes, the version of Princess Diana that we met in Batman v Superman is a whopping 5,000 years old, making her origin story the true dawn of the Justice League cinematic universe’s narrative. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Aquaman, whose standalone venture will take place after this fall’s round-up feature Justice League, eschewing the origin story shtick altogether.
As we’ll discuss in today’s Nerdist News Talks Back, hosted by Jessica Chobot and featuring Nerdist Associate Editor Kyle Anderson and Nerdist Science Editor and Because Science star Kyle Hill, Aquaman‘s evasion of the prequel route is a noteworthy choice. Considering Spider-Man: Homecoming is taking a similar directive, it’s worth wondering if the origin story craze is winding down to a close. Of course, the future of the trend may depend on the success of Wonder Woman, which dives headfirst into its characters not-so-humble beginnings.
Of course, Wonder Woman won’t focus solely on the early days of Themyscira, but on her forays through the human realm during the early 20th century. Considering the fact that Wonder Woman takes place largely on the battlefields of World War I, you may expect a fair share of brutality and bloodshed. Rest assured, the film is a safe PG-13, although Patty Jenkins recently told Cinemablend that she had to fight to avoid an R; general marketability besides the point, Jenkins wanted to ensure that girls and young women could see the film that was made with so many of them in mind. Still, we have to wonder if war scenes would really have been enough to hike Wonder Woman up to an R rating. Jess and the Kyles will ponder on what else may have nearly crossed the line.
Swapping the Amazon for Burbank, lassos for mallets, and nobility for mayhem, we move onto the Animaniacs, who may well find new life in a reboot series. Details are scant, but rest assured we’ll be weighing in on our expectations and hopes for a new take on the early ’90s cartoon favorite.
Finally, we leave the world of film and television–and actually, the world altogether–for a voyage to the sun. NASA is gearing up for Mission: Touching the Sun, a somewhat deceptively named expedition to bring the Solar Probe Plus to a record four million miles from the surface of our friendly neighborhood plasma sphere. Kyle Hill will weigh in on the purpose of the mission, which is set to take course in summer 2018.
Any thoughts on the origin story craze, an R-rated Wonder Woman, an Animaniacs reboot, or, well, the sun? Let us know!
Featured image: Warner Bros
