So, Variety announced today that Gal Gadot has been cast as Wonder Woman in the upcoming “Man of Steel” sequel, that will also feature Ben Affleck’s debut as Batman.

This has been confirmed by director Zack Snyder, who said “Not only is Gal an amazing actress, but she also has that magical quality that makes her perfect for the role.”

Look, I’m just gonna jump right into my reactions, if you don’t mind.

THE GOOD:

Well, obviously, WONDER WOMAN IS GOING TO APPEAR ON THE BIG SCREEN, FINALLY.  And, the casting of an Israeli actress is pretty awesome, it’s great to see a non-white woman get to show some Wonder.

I know a lot of people were reacting with “WHO?” when Gal’s name came up, but I think that’s a plus.  Even Lynda Carter herself once advised Hollywood to “cast an unknown.” I like having an actress without anything iconic to compare her role as Wonder Woman to.

THE BAD:

Wonder Woman is making it on screen, yes, but as a supporting role in a movie primarily focused on Superman and Batman.  She’s not even being mentioned in the tentative title while the two boys are.  It reeks of sticking her in the movie to appease audiences without having to do the “risky” thing and give her a solo origin movie because, everyone knows, female-fronted action movies with well-established characters are doomed to fail.

Oh, by the way, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has made $297 million in two weeks and broke a Thanksgiving weekend record previously held by “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

Also, there’s the big question of Zack Snyder being at the helm again.  Snyder’s record with female characters isn’t necessarily great.  The man made “Sucker Punch” for crying out loud and defended it as “empowering,” proving that he has the most tenuous, superficial, male-gaze friendly grasp on the concept of female empowerment possible.

THE EH, MAYBE:

While I’m all about Gadot’s casting, I’m seriously hoping she plans to put on some muscle before filming begins.  I don’t think it’s impossible, look at the transformations of Seth Rogen and Chris Pratt for roles in action movies.  Wonder Woman is first and foremost a warrior, and I don’t care what nationality or color your actress for the role is, if she doesn’t have notable muscle tone, I can’t buy her as an Amazon.

Really, this is just all knee-jerk reactions to the news.  We won’t know anything for awhile, and I’m waiting until we see the first leaked set pictures, promo images and trailers before I really decide on anything.  And the truth is, I’m probably not going to flock to theaters for this, no matter how much I want my Wonder Woman fix.  I still want her in a solo film, giving her the spotlight and letting her show the world the wonder that she truly is.

Ashly is an IHO Geek writer and is trying to be rational about this casting news.  You can try to ruffle her feathers on Twitter @newageamazon.