Lynda Carter is having a bit of a moment. The star of the Wonder Woman TV series in the 1970s was recently listed in a Washington Post article as one of the top superhero performances of all time, while The Wrap cited her as the most popular actress over 70. Her social media feeds rank alongside the likes of Mark Hamill and George Takei in terms of popularity, and she regularly uses her platform to champion LGBT+ and women's rights. The actor looks more and more like her most famous character every day.
And it just so happens that Wonder Woman herself is in the midst of a major transition, as Gal Gadot seemingly waves goodbye to the bracelets and lasso. It's a great opportunity for Carter to take a curtain call very similar to the animated films featuring Adam West and his cohorts from the original Batman series. More than just a loving homage, they used animation to lead a sense of the epic to West's Gotham that the TV show couldn't. An animated Wonder Woman '77 feature -- which was once on the table -- could do much the same thing for Carter. Now is the perfect time to make it happen.
Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman Suffered from Budgetary Limitations
Wonder Woman first debuted in the fall of 1976 and lasted for three seasons. As was typical for science fiction and superhero shows at the time, the cost of it all was a huge concern and ultimately led to a premature cancelation at the end of the 1978/79 season. That's borne out the by the show's huge shift in setting and tone after the first season, which was set during World War II and saw Diana mostly fighting the Nazis. It moved from ABC to CBS for Season 2 and updated the setting to the then-contemporary '70s: eschewing the cost of a period setting.
That extends to the specifics of the show and the nature of the threats as well. Arriving back in Man's World 30 years after the end of the war, Diana Prince becomes an intelligence agent for the government in a reflection of the comics at the time. Most of Wonder Woman's rogues' gallery are no-shows. Instead, she takes on the likes of terrorists and art thieves (who conveniently don't need expensive costumes), and the settings don't require much in the way of embellishment. Most of the time, the visual effects were solely limited to her iconic spin-transformation and a bit of stunt work: almost more cop show than superhero series sometimes.
Perhaps the best example of its limitations comes from one of its few efforts to try something more ambitious. Season 2, Episodes 10 and 11, "Mind Stealers from Outer Space," pits Diana against an invasion of brain-stealing aliens in a story clearly inspired by Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope which had landed a few months earlier. The effects were chintzy in the extreme, with silly animated ray beams and aliens dressed in go-kart helmets decorated with obvious Christmas tinsel. The visual reach openly exceeds the show's financial grasp, showing just how little it had to work with in the wake of an ambitious storyline. Small wonder it stuck to art thieves.
An Animated Wonder Woman '77 Feature Would Give Carter a Bigger Stage
Frankly, however, none of that mattered whenever Carter appeared. As the Post article notes, few superhero performers before or since look like they stepped straight off the comics page the way she does (it's literally part of the opening credits). The actor effortlessly embodies Diana's self-confidence, moral certainty, and just enough fun to take the harsh edges off. As the reason for the exercise, she was absolutely ideal, and the show didn't need much more to work.
An animated feature around her is almost a no-brainer. West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar added a pair of charming codas to their Gotham adventures, first in 2016's Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders and then Batman vs. Two-Face a year later. (West passed away between the two films' release dates.) There's nothing to say a similar effort couldn't be made for Carter, and indeed, there was talk at the time of following the West films with at least one for her. With the Wonder Woman '77 comic line demonstrating the potential, it would let her take on the kinds of threats that her show just couldn't afford. Sea monsters, alternate dimensions, and alien invasions that don't depend on Christmas tinsel would all be on the table, along with a terrific rogue's gallery that never received their proper due. Best of all, Carter could return to the role she was born to play and give everyone a reminder of just what an amazing Diana she was. There has never been a better time for such a film, and the actor is clearly as ready as ever.