'Wonder Woman' Fans Aren't Happy With New Costumes in 'Justice League'
Of the many things the Wonder Woman movie did right (a woman director, an all-female island, Gal freaking Gadot), the Amazons’ costumes are right up there among the greatest. After centuries of comic book writers and video game designers making women fight in naught but a boob window, at last we had some actually plausible ass-kicking gear. The ladies of Themyscira wear literal breastplates, female gaze–friendly leathers, midriff armor, and, most importantly, more than just a bra. We can thank costume designer Lindy Hemming, who said she wanted to design armor that was simultaneously “authentic and real” and “hot as hell.”
But, if Internet speculation is to be believed, it looks like the upcoming Justice League movie had other plans—and fans are not happy. On Sunday, cosplayer Kimi (AKA GoldenLassoGirl) obtained what appear to be photos of the Amazons from Justice League. Gone are the breastplates, the armored knee-high boots, and the ab coverage. (Seriously, where’s the ab coverage?) Instead, we have Zeus’ elite group of legendary women warriors lounging around in something more akin to that infamous Princess Leia slave costume.
“Why mess with perfection?” asked Kimi on a blog post calling out the change. “Oh, right. The all-male team of directors and executive directors wanted women to fight in bikinis.” Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, and the new costumes appear to be designed by Michael Wilkinson, instead of Hemming.
Kimi’s post spread like wildfire, and photos of the alleged new costumes quickly caused an uproar on social media. “In case you wonder: Here’s a picture of how the Amazons looked in Wonder Woman…next to pic how they look in Justice League,” wrote @Rosgakori in a viral tweet. “First designed by Lindy Hemming, second by Michael Wilkinson. Some steps backwards, methinks.”
Other users chimed in, with Melissa Silverstein, artistic director of the Athena Film Festival, calling it “a fantastic example of the difference between the male and female gaze” in another widely circulated tweet.
Since the photos surfaced, it appears as though the redesigned costumes may be for a flashback to a past era of Themyscira, making it a literal “step backward.” And social media stands divided on whether the present-day Amazonians in Justice League have more revealing costumes than the ones we saw in Wonder Woman, as shown in the tweets below.
https://twitter.com/_VintageReality/status/929918757916594176
We’ll have to wait for the film or officials photos to be released in order to know for sure what the Amazons’ costumes look like. (We’ve reached out to representatives for comment and will update this post once we’ve heard back.) But given the record-breaking numbers Wonder Woman pulled in last year, angering this fan base might not be the best idea.
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