Colton Ogburn: Adria Arjona's Secret Man of Tomorrow Role Might Finally Be the DCU's Wonder Woman

Did we just get confirmation on who will be the DCU's Wonder Woman? I don't think we have official confirmation yet, but the pieces are starting to line up around Andor's Adria Arjona, and I want to walk through why.

Man of Tomorrow's Rumored Hero Lineup Has Me Both Excited and Nervous

Ever since James Gunn took over at DC and announced a whole new DCU, the biggest question has been who joins David Corenswet's Superman to complete the trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The next Superman film is called Man of Tomorrow, and Gunn has said it isn't really a sequel so much as another installment in the DCU. Rumor has it we'll see a lot of DC heroes pop up in it.

We already know John Stewart's Green Lantern will appear, and Blue Beetle and Supergirl are confirmed as well, with all of them facing off against Brainiac. The rumor going around is that Wonder Woman and Batman will also make their DCU debuts in this same movie.

Having all these heroes finally show up, especially Batman and Wonder Woman, sounds great on paper. But it also makes me a little nervous, because I've seen this go wrong before.

Why Amazing Spider-Man 2, Iron Man 2, and Batman v Superman Worry Me

Three sequels come to mind whenever I think about a movie being robbed of just telling its own story: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Iron Man 2, and Batman v Superman. Each of those got co-opted into universe-building instead of continuing the first film's story. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was Sony's rush toward a Sinister Six movie and a shared universe instead of just continuing Peter Parker's story.

Iron Man 2 at times feels like it had to squeeze in Avengers setup with Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Shield. I don't think that's all bad, honestly. I think Nick Fury and Black Widow fit fine in that film and didn't feel shoehorned, but that movie is generally regarded as one of the weaker Marvel entries, and it's the most relevant example here of a sequel doing too much instead of just being a sequel.

Batman v Superman shoehorned in Batman, Wonder Woman, and the whole Justice League into what really should have just been a Man of Steel sequel. Some people think Wonder Woman specifically was too much for that film, but I disagree. I think if you're going to make that movie, Wonder Woman actually fit pretty nicely into it.

James Gunn Has Proven He Can Juggle a Crowd

None of this means a movie with lots of characters can't be great. Lots of movies have lots of characters, but you need a filmmaker who knows how to handle that many heroes, and comic book films bringing together characters who each have their own solo stories can be especially tricky to balance.

Luckily, Man of Tomorrow is being directed by James Gunn, and he's handled this before. He did it with Superman by folding in Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner's Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl. He did it with The Suicide Squad, and of course with Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn can do it.

Adria Arjona Has Long Been My Pick for the DCU's Wonder Woman

My personal pick for the DCU's Wonder Woman has always been Andor's Adria Arjona. I look at her and I just see Wonder Woman. She looks tough, and she can play a fierce warrior, a diplomat, a princess, or a queen.

I know Wonder Woman was originally portrayed as white, but I have always preferred her to appear with darker skin and an accent, since I think that fits an Amazonian character well. I thought Gal Gadot, despite not being able to act her way out of a paper bag, actually did pretty good as Wonder Woman, and her accent and darker skin felt right for the Amazonian character.

Gal Gadot Says a New Wonder Woman With Patty Jenkins Is No Longer Happening

Speaking of Gal Gadot, in an interview with Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, she said that James Gunn and Peter Safran initially told her they had plans to do another Wonder Woman film with her and Patty Jenkins, but that's not happening now. I think that's the right move. I liked the first Wonder Woman film, not so much 1984, but if you're building a new DCU with a new Superman and a new Batman, you need a new Wonder Woman too.

The Maxima Rumor: What Deadline Reported and Why It's Not Confirmed

I've seen reports claiming Arjona is already confirmed to be playing a different character named Maxima, but that was never actually confirmed. Deadline reported it and then put out what I'd call a semi-retraction. James Gunn, DC Studios, and Peter Safran have not come out and said she is playing Maxima, so I want to clear that up.

Arjona also recently put out a new training video, apparently timed with a Women's Health magazine feature to coincide with her promotional tour for her film Onslaught, and that has led many to speculate the training is really for a DC role. Many of those same people think that role is Maxima.

From what I know of Maxima, she's from a warrior planet, a queen and something of a conqueror who has a thing for Superman because she considers him the only partner worthy of her. In the comics, Brainiac attacks her planet while she's off-world, reportedly pursuing Superman, and Brainiac is the villain of Man of Tomorrow.

Could Arjona's Training Videos Point to Wonder Woman, Maxima, or Both

Could she be playing Maxima? Yes, and I think she'd be a great fit. Maxima seems like exactly the kind of character Gunn likes to pull from obscurity into the mainstream, something he's proven he can do well.

But I also wonder if the Maxima rumors Deadline reported might have been intentional leaks from within the studio to cover up that she's truly been cast as Wonder Woman. So while I'm personally pulling for Wonder Woman, I also think she'd be great in the role of Maxima. It's even possible she auditioned for Wonder Woman, didn't get it, and Gunn liked her enough to offer her Maxima instead. We'll just have to see.

This is a film with Brainiac as the villain, featuring John Stewart's Green Lantern, Blue Beetle, and Supergirl all helping Superman, and all of those characters have an alien aspect. Lex Luthor is also there, and he hates aliens, yet he's stuck working with a bunch of them to fight Brainiac. Maxima might actually be a better fit for this specific film, though I haven't read the script, so I don't know for sure. I'm pulling for Wonder Woman, but I won't be disappointed if it's Maxima.

A Bruce Wayne Theory for Man of Tomorrow's Batman Debut

Since we're on the topic of Man of Tomorrow, I've long said I could see Bruce Wayne having a role in this movie without ever putting on the Batsuit. Maybe there's a fun post-credit scene where he returns home from Metropolis to Gotham and enters his Batcave, setting up Brave and the Bold.

Think about it: this movie is about Superman teaming up with super genius billionaire Lex Luthor to stop Brainiac. Maybe super genius billionaire Bruce Wayne would be a better asset than Batman for stopping a cross between an alien and an artificial intelligence invader. If Batman's true goal is to save the world, it might make sense for him to use the Bruce Wayne persona to get into the room with Lex and Superman, especially since he wouldn't want to reveal his identity by showing up as Batman.

We've seen Batman put on the Bruce Wayne mask before to complete a mission, so there could be a scenario where he decides he's more useful as Bruce Wayne here, maybe suiting up as Batman only in a late ground fight. It would also be pretty bold to have Bruce Wayne never put on the costume at all, instead handling business in a three piece suit and getting a moment where people wonder where that came from, and he just says something like he takes karate. I think that would be a fun way to introduce the DCU's Bruce Wayne.

Who do you think Adria Arjona is playing, and who do you hope she's playing?