New Wonder Woman Trailer Promotes Kick-Ass Pulp Feminism

When I showed my wife the first footage released for Wonder Woman from this year's San Diego Comic-Con back in July, she noted that it was the first time she'd ever seen a female superhero shot in the same way as a male superhero.  What she didn't know at the time, and what made her comment so interesting, was that this is also one of the first times a female director was in charge of shooting a female superhero (the only other example I could find was Rachel Talalay on Tank Girl, who I'm not sure even counts as a superhero).  The most fascinating and heartening aspect of the new trailer released today is just how much Warner Bros. and the film's creative team seem to be leaning into the Amazon princess as a feminist icon.

First off, the World War I setting is extremely smart.  Not only is the Great War underused when it comes to pulpy action epics, but it also works as a thematically rich historical period for women in particular.  What better time for a mythically strong female figure to emerge than during the era of the suffragettes?  Something about this trailer also has me thinking of the now defunct Marvel show, Agent Carter.  That show, killed way too early, played against the same empowering themes, and I can only hope Gal Gadot's Diana Prince is half as charming and witty as Hayley Atwell playing Carter.

I'm really rooting for director Patty Jenkins and company to get this right.  A film like this may be exactly the course correction needed to pull the DC superheroes out of their grim testosterone-fueled funk, at least until Justice League.

Some random notes about the trailer:
That shot of Diana jumping off the cliff and into the water is gorgeous.  In fact, most of the trailer has an appealing vibrancy and epic grandeur.
I'm interested by the modern scenes in the trailer, but I hope its more of a framing device and less of a narrative crutch.
Wonder Woman marching alone through no-man's-land?  Awesome.
The jokey bit at the end is cute, but a little too Tarzan for my liking.  Hopefully Diana doesn't go through most of the film like a female Crocodile Dundee in the city.

Check out the trailer for yourself below!

Wonder Woman will hit theaters on June 9th.