Wonder Woman (2017) was one of the rare films from the DCEU that managed to wow critics after a string of what were considered mediocre films. It delved into the backstory of Diana, who was introduced in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, while being one of the most successful female-led superhero films, the film almost ended up committing one of Hollywood’s most notorious sins when it came to casting a particular role for Wonder Woman.
Charlize Theron was almost cast in Wonder Woman in a role that the actor felt was like a ‘slap in the face’. While she had no qualms about joining the MCU five years later in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Theron was very miffed at the fact that she was asked to play Gal Gadot’s mother in the film, despite being just nine years senior to the actor.
Charlize Theron thinks of the offer as a ‘defining moment’
The actress revealed the offer on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, saying how it felt like Hollywood was slapping her in the face with the offer. She assumed that the role was for Wonder Woman, but the actress was told that it was for the role of Hippolyta, Diana’s mother. On the show, she said:
This is a great of example of how Hollywood slaps you in the face when you start aging. So somebody had said to me, ‘Oh, there’s action on this thing, Wonder Woman—we just want to make you aware of it.’ And I was like, ‘I’m just not familiar with it . . . I mean, what does Wonder Woman do?’ And this person said, ‘No, it’s for Wonder Woman’s mom.’
The actress was shocked that her not-so-advanced age had already started attracting roles for much older characters, especially when contrasted with the real-world age of her on-screen children. She elaborated:
It was the defining moment where I crossed over. And I wasn’t fully aware of it.
The role was then played by Connie Nielsen, who was considerably older than the Justice League alum.
Hollywood has had a long history of casting older women as old
An old issue in Hollywood concerns how the actors who are not as old are cast as way older than they actually are. Charlize Theron being offered the role in the DCEU comes from a long line of similar mistakes, such as Angelina Jolie being cast in Alexander as Colin Farell’s mother, who was just a year younger than the former.
Similar issues were faced by Amy Poehler, who was just seven years older than Rachel McAdams but played her mother in Mean Girls. Further, this was the case with Toni Collete, who was 12 years older than Paul Dano, who played her son in Little Miss Sunshine.
Wonder Woman can be streamed on Max
