Film About Wonder Woman’s Creator in the Works

Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman solo film isn’t the only project about the Amazonian superhero that’s in the works. Sony is developing their own Wonder Woman movie — well, sort of. It’s called Professor Marston and The Wonder Women, and it centers on the iconic comic-book character’s creator, William Moulton Marston, his wife, and their unconventional relationship.

THR reports that Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote (seen most recently in The Neon Demon) will star in Professor Marston and The Wonder Women, a real-life origin story of sorts for the famous superhero. Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S., The L Word) will direct the film from her own screenplay, which is described as follows:

In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, is the true story of 1940s Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston, the inventor of the lie detector and creator of the iconic Wonder Woman, who defends his feminist superhero against charges of 'sexual perversity' while at the same time maintaining a secret that could have destroyed him. Unknown to others, Marston’s inspiration for Wonder Woman was his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women in the field of psychology who defied convention, building a secret life together with Marston that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.

Okay, sure — a movie about Wonder Woman’s male creator seems absurd at first glance, but there’s a lot more to the story than the above. Marston was a psychologist and inventor of the lie detector test, which led him to believe that women were more honest than men. He was inspired by early feminists, like birth control pill pioneer Margaret Sanger, as well as his liberal wife, Elizabeth (it was her idea to make a female superhero), who helped him develop the character. Their lover, Olive, served as the physical model for Wonder Woman.

Although Marston believed submissiveness to be a good quality in women, he also felt that girls resented their own gender because their strengths were inextricable from perceived weakness. Marston fought hard to defend his creation from those who felt Wonder Woman would somehow, inexplicably, turn little girls into lesbians.

His polyamorous relationship with his wife, Elizabeth, and his former student, Olive, was quite scandalous as the time — and is still seen as somewhat unconventional today. When Marston died in 1947, Elizabeth and Olive continued to live as a couple and raised their children together until the latter passed away in 1988.

Interesting story, no? On top of that, Professor Marston and The Wonder Women will be written and directed by Angela Robinson, a gay woman of color, and produced by Topple Productions, which was co-founded by Transparent creator Jill Soloway. She’s joined by fellow producers Andrea Sperling, Terry Leonard and Amy Redford. That’s quite the diverse group of talent, and an excellent team to bring this unconventional story of Wonder Woman’s creation to life.