Costumer Designer, Michael Wilkinson, for Man of Steel and its upcoming follow-up, tentatively titled Batman vs. Superman, talks briefly on Wonder Woman’s costume.
Though most people were upset by the updated look of Superman’s threads in Man of Steel, I found it pretty cool. Sure, the iconic red trunks were gone and though it looked jarring at first looking at what appeared to be a onesie, I found the muted colors and material looked more practical as a body suit of some sort rather than a costume. With the costume designer, Michael Wilkinson, returning for Batman vs. Superman and Kevin Smith’s endorsement of the new Batman costume, I have faith that we won’t be disappointed with their clothes.
Having recently received an Oscar nod for his work on American Hustle, Wilkinson seems to be on cloud nine at the moment. Someone caught up with him on the red carpet and inquired about the Wonder Woman costume. He gave a brief and somewhat revealing explanation behind his process.
“It’s a thrilling and slightly scary prospect of course. It’s so important to get her right. She really deserves to be presented onscreen in her full glory, so what I do is look at the history of the character has been presented on the big screen, small screen, comic books, and graphic novels; we process it all. Then we kind of put that aside and work out what is right for our film, for the cinematic universe that our director Zack Snyder is putting together. We try to create a Wonder Woman relevant for today’s audiences.”
Considering the practical nature of Superman’s garb in Man of Steel, I don’t doubt he’d give a proper update to WW’s outfit. Some of the more pessimistic may misinterpret his comment of putting aside the history as ignoring it, but I’d like to point out that although it’s important to acknowledge and appreciate her history, as an artist, he should have the privilege of creating his own take on the costume and that he did, in fact, study it enough for it to help in his interpretation.
When the reporter asked about whether or not WW’s traditional outfit can still be seen as practical, Wilkinson affirmed.
“Absolutely! I mean, you just have to look at the Gladiators from ancient Rome, they did their thing… with the shield and everything. Yes, it works for Thor and 300, so let’s see what happens.”
I myself remain optimistic and anticipate his take on a more relevant Wonder Woman. Hopefully, we will get that glimpse at the new costumes soon.
Source – TheWrap (ScreenRant)
