Following the cancellation of Wonder Woman 3 amid James Gunn and Peter Safran’s instatement as the heads of DC Studios, it appears that the new, reimagined slate of upcoming DC movies will not include Gal Gadot as the powerful warrior. However, does that mean we have not see the last of Themyscira, which is the setting of the upcoming DC TV show Paradise Lost.
When speaking with Collider, Safran cited Game of Thrones as an inspiration for this series within the new DC Universe, which is set to take place on the mystical island before Diana was molded from clay, which means that the Justice Leaguer’s peers and ancestors will be getting their time in the spotlight. Needless to say, we are curious what sort of characters from the pages of DC Comics who are also associated with Wonder Woman are set to make an appearance on Paradise Lost, or even lead the cast. We had a few people in mind who we have listed below.
Nubia
Back when there were still plans for a Wonder Woman movie spin-off that would focus on the Amazonian women of Themyscira, one of the characters we hoped we would see in the film was Nubia. Known for being DC’s first Black, female superhero, the character was originally introduced as Diana’s fraternal twin before she was reinvented as one of her best friends.
As a means to finally see her transition from the comic book pages to the screen, she could be reimagined for Paradise Lost as an Atlantean warrior before Diana’s time and could be played by Tiffany Haddish, who has had her eye on the role for some time.
Atalanta
Another Amazonian character who has never been brought to life in a live-action adaptation is Diana’s aunt, Atalanta, who might actually have one of the better chances of being involved in Paradise Lost (or be its main character, even) based on her backstory.
She and others opted to break from the Amazon woman from Themyscira and would found their own tribe in the Egyptian city of Bana-Mighdall. The conflict that would have led to this divide could be a pivotal aspect of the series’ main plot and might lead to some epic sequences showing this skilled warrior queen in action.
Phillipus
An Amazonian character who actually has been brought to life in a live-action adaptation is Phillipus, who was portrayed in 2017’s Wonder Woman and both known edits of Justice League by Ann Ogbomo. Of course, the trusted warrior’s involvement in these DC Extended Universe films was relatively brief and did not acknowledge much of anything from her extensive history in the comics — such as her romance with Diane’s mother, Queen Hippolyta.
Paradise Lost opens up a perfect opportunity to expand on the character, whom Ogbomo might not be able to reprise if this is an entirely new continuity, but she has, at least, starred in her fair of DC TV shows since — namely Krypton and Netflix’s The Sandman.
Queen Desira
For as much as we are excited to see how Paradise Lost further explores the land that Themyscira has to offer, we wonder if the series has any any intention of going beyond the island or even beyond Earth, for that matter. If so, that would lead to a fun opportunity to visit Venus and check in on its queen, Desira, who becomes one of Wonder Woman’s most trusted confidants in the comics.
Perhaps the series could even provide origin story of how she came to rule the planet, which would allow for the chance to see some epic cosmic visuals that we have not seen in too many DC projects as of late.
Orion
One of the most exciting aspects of Paradise Lost for us is its predominantly female cast, but we know from the Amazons’ history imagine there is likely to be at least a few male characters among the ensemble at some point and potential name that came to mind is Orion.
To be clear, this superhero is not one of many pre-existing figures of ancient mythology who went on to be reinterpreted in comic book fiction, but is one of creator Jack Kirby’s New Gods, who were actually supposed to be the stars of another scrapped DC movie that was to be co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay. This series could be a perfect way to make up for the loss of those characters’ big screen debut, but even just bringing in Orion in some capacity could be interesting enough, especially considering the fact that his father is Darkseid.
Ares
When it comes to the most notable male DC character with a connection to Wonder Woman and the Amazons that we would be most interested in seeing in Paradise Lost, I'm picturing someone who played a major role in Gal Gadot’s 2017 solo film, but spent most of his screen time in human form. We are referring to the God of War himself, Ares — played by David Thewlis in Wonder Woman, in which he also went by the alias of the Imperial War Cabinet’s speaker of the peace, Sir Patrick, before revealing his true self to Diana in the explosive third act.
While some people admitted to having a problem with Wonder Woman’s ending, we thought Ares’ battle with the eponymous hero was fun, but it did leave us wanting to see more of this ruthless celestial in action, which Paradise Lost would serve as a perfect venue for.
Obviously, there are plenty of other DC Comics heroes and villains alike that exist in Wonder Woman’s inner circle whom we could have included in this list, such as Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyta. Well, honestly, we cannot imagine a version of Paradise Lost that does not involve the ruler of Themyscira and figured we should not have to feel concerned over that question.
We are curious, however, if the show has any plans for an appearance by Diana herself, either at the beginning of her life, a present-day flash forward, or some other type of mention. Only time will tell and, since there is still no confirmation of when Paradise Lost is set to premiere for everyone with Max subscriptions, it looks like we may have to wait a while.
