New Wonder Woman Photo Almost Makes Us Curious About Zack Snyder’s Version Of The Amazon Princess

It’s a Zack Snyder world with all the press the filmmaker is doing for the Justice League Snyder Cut. With the previously thought to be nonexistent movie finally releasing on HBO Max later this year, Snyder is doing his best to hype it up. And understandably so. But during one of those press interviews, something else came to light. Something insanely interesting, to say the least. A New Wonder Woman in the Crimean War photo became public, providing a glimpse at an alternate take on the Amazon warrior. 

What Wonder Woman Was And What It Would Become 

It’s no spoiler by now that Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the movie that broke barriers on and off-screen, is a teeny bit divisive. Even internally there is upheaval in the Comic Years’ house about the reception of that movie. But it’s safe to say that reaction to Patty Jenkins’ first Wonder Woman live-action movie, is pretty unified. Let’s put aside the tricky third act climax for a second. So, it’s surprising to see that there was a totally different take on the character before Jenkins joined. 

Some Background To This Supposedly Secret Wonder Woman Photo

Image via Warner Media.

Zack Snyder was the original architect of the DCEU, before leaving the production of Justice League due to a family tragedy. However, before that, it was Snyder who cast Gadot in the role of the iconic comic book superhero. And his Batman V. Superman was also the first time she appeared on screen in this universe. For the better part of 2020, due to the pandemic, Snyder, like all of us, appeared over Zoom calls from his home office. During those calls, he mentioned the existence of a Wonder Woman concept picture, even before the Wonder Woman movie, or director Jenkins was on board. And now, we finally get to see that photo. 

Here is a clear look at the pic shown during Zack’s interview today, it was used as a placeholder in BVS and was taken before Patty was hired and took on Wonder Woman’s origin Story.

Thanks boss @ZackSnyder for letting us share this.#UsUnited #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague pic.twitter.com/qeBFCev9MT

— NQ Cole & Nana (@TheNerdQueens) January 4, 2021

After an interview with Comic Book Debate, Snyder finally showed off the image that we could see in the background clearly. Later on, he released the image to fans, The Nerd Queens, to officially share on social media. And a lot is going on in this image for a placeholder. Until the story and timeline were completely changed. This led to a split amongst fans on social media. Some objected to the idea of Wonder Woman being the type of hero to go around carrying the heads of those she vanquished. Others, however, have pointed to versions of the character in the comics who is very much that kind of warrior. This led to some debate about the Wonder Woman we got, a more nurturing and less inclined to kill hero, and the Wonder Woman we could have gotten with Zack Snyder still heavily involved in the DCEU.

New Wonder Woman Crimean War Photo Teases What Could Have Been

Image via Warner Media.

The actual Wonder Woman Crimean War photo in question is a little insane. The war itself happened around 1853, predating the World War I storyline from what became Wonder Woman. The image was apparently a ‘placeholder’ for a similar image from the actual movie we got once Jenkins was hired, and the setting, and obviously storyline, changed.

The picture even showcases a much darker side to Diana herself, as she’s holding up three severed heads of her enemies. The visual tone of the shot looks similar to the actual picture that Bruce Wayne gives Diana in Batman V. Superman, which also appears at the beginning of Wonder Woman. It’s that image that kickstarts the flashback that was the first Wonder Woman movie. This version of Wonder Woman was apparently a point of contention between Jenkins when she was originally involved with the project back in 2010. Which makes sense that she changed it after her hiring. 

Wonder Woman 1854 – This amazing image shot by Stephen Berkman of an else-world, war weary Diana, who had chased Aries across the battlefields of the world and had yet to meet Steve, who would help her restore her faith in mankind and love itself. pic.twitter.com/eofkAMg9as

— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) January 5, 2021

A More Badass Version Of What We Got? 

Image via Warner Media.

We can easily see that the final picture in the movie, is very similar to that of this placeholder. Although, toned down a lot. While the brutality of the heads is obviously the most noticeable thing, there’s so much more happening here. The warriors surrounding Diana are from various cultures, presumably whom she met on her travels. They also seem to be different versions of the characters that ended up in the movie. 

There’s a Sikh warrior from South Asia, who was probably replaced by the character played by Said Taghmaoui who is of Moroccan descent. We can also spot a man wearing traditional Scottish garbs, presumably an earlier iteration of the character of Ewen Bremner. Not to mention a Native American character, who ended up played by Eugene Brave Rock in Wonder Woman. 

Most interesting is the Samurai just casually standing beside everyone. This new Wonder Woman Crimean War photo really gives us a look at what a Wonder Woman movie would look like if directed by Zack Snyder. Which could have been very cool and interesting. But despite my curiosity, I still feel the movie we got from Jenkins’ is quite possibly the best version of that character and the story that needed telling. 

Wonder Woman 1984 is now playing in theatres and on HBO Max. 

How do you feel about this new unused Wonder Woman image? Does it make you curious about a different kind of Wonder Woman? Let me know in the comments below. 

Featured image via Warner Media. 

Shah Shahid is an entertainment writer, movie critic (so he thinks), host of the Split Screen Podcast (on Apple Podcasts & everywhere else) and filmy father on a mission to educate his girls on decades of film history. Armed with uncontrollable sarcasm and cautious optimism, Shah loves discussing film, television and comic book content until his wife’s eyes glaze over. So save her by engaging him on his own blog at BlankPageBeatdown.com or on Twitter @theshahshahid.