Wonder Woman is the film we never thought would happen. Joss Whedon couldn't get it off the ground. Adrianne Palicki couldn't make it as TV's new Wonder Woman. It looked like fans of DC Comics' badass Amazon princess were going to have to satisfy themselves with reruns of the Lynda Carter '70s show until the end of time.

But then a miracle happened, as if sent by the gods of legend themselves, and Warner Bros announced that (the other) Princess Diana was coming to the big screen. After a cameo this year in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman will be getting her own film, and here's everything you need to know about it.

Wonder Woman movie cast: Will the real Princess Diana please stand up

There were plenty of names in the pot to play Wonder Woman, not to mention a fan wishlist as long as your arm. Hopefuls including Daredevil's new Elektra Élodie Yung were beaten to the punch by little known Israeli model and Fast and Furious series actress Gal Gadot to a chorus of 'who?'s. At least she was wearing a costume we could get behind (sorry, Adrianne).

After her debut in Batman v Superman in which a spoilerific trailer promises that the three will team up against the monster Doomsday in act three, she will feature in what is shaping up to be a prequel/origin story for the mythic heroine.

Joining her will be Star Trek's Chris Pine as fighter pilot and Wonder Woman's sometime ally/love interest Steve Trevor, with Gladiator star Connie Nielsen as Diana's mother Queen Hippolyta.

Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, Elena Anaya and Lucy Davis will also feature, as well as House of Cards' Robin Wright, who we all assumed would be playing the queen, because, you know, she already is. Actually, it will be Gladiator's Connie Wright as Diana's mum Queen Hippolyta, with Wright as their fellow Amazon General Antiope and Lisa Loven Kongsli as her second-in-command Melanippe.

And sadly we won't be getting a cheeky Lynda Carter cameo, so you may as well uncross your fingers now.

Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones' Michelle MacLaren was attached to direct the film for a while, and it was a bad sign when she dropped out over the standard 'creative differences'. Monster's Patty Jenkins came in to replace her – which was either brave or stupid, considering she had previously exited Marvel's Thor: The Dark World over 'creative differences' too – but it looks like she'll make it out the other side this time.

Pan's Jason Fuchs was believed to be writing the script, but surprisingly late in the day it was revealed that DC chief creative officer Geoff Johns and Young Avenger creator Allen Heinberg (who has worked on TV shows including Party of Five, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Sex and the City and Scandal) delivered a script based on Heinberg and Zack Snyder's plot.

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Wonder Woman movie trailer: A first look at the Amazon

We weren't expecting a trailer anytime soon, but nor were we expecting any footage from Wonder Woman, which is exactly what we got in a surprise video as part of the Dawn of the Justice League special on The CW.

Geoff Johns told Kevin Smith (looking very smart with a blazer over his Batman T-shirt) about the origin of the movie Amazons before showing off a glimpse of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor riding on horseback (under a now very familiar grey filter).

Up next comes some fighting and horse riding scenes that remind us a whole lot of Xena: The Warrior Princess, which to be honest owed more than a bit to Wonder Woman in the first place, so we've now come full circle.

As for a trailer itself, there's been no announcement on that yet, but if they have enough footage for the teaser, we wouldn't be entirely surprised if they sprung it on us at any moment.

However, Gal Gadot revealed the poster for the film on her own Twitter feed ahead of the Wonder Woman panel at San Diego Comic-Con. As you can see, it's a lot brighter and more colourful than a lot of what we've seen from the DC universe so far, which might give an indication of a slightly different aesthetic to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

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Wonder Woman movie plot: Return to Man's World

The official synopsis reads:

"Wonder Woman hits movie theaters around the world next summer when Gal Gadot returns as the title character in the epic action adventure from director Patty Jenkins. Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior.

"Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers... and her true destiny."

It turns out the Amazon warrior women of Greek legend, who live on the secret island of Themyscira, were supposed to protect 'Man's World' – that's our bog-standard patriarchal society to you – but decided it was pretty rubbish and so skipped out on us. But their princess, Diana/Wonder Woman, was never comfortable with that decision.

Pine has confirmed that it will be set during World War I (rather than the classic World War II origin setting for Wonder Woman), as seen in the period stylings of the first teaser. His character Steve Trevor is traditionally the first man to stumble across Themyscira in hundreds of years, giving Diana the excuse she needs to leave with him.

So unless we comically misjudged the time in which Batman v Superman lead-in Man of Steel was set (the modern day, right? right??), Wonder Woman is very much a prequel to those two movies. It also makes her considerably older than those young whippersnapper superheroes. In fact, she first retired 5,000 years before they were even born, so they'd better show some respect.

Gadot promised Digital Spy that the film would be lighter than Batman v Superman, but not that much lighter by the sounds of it. "It has moments of humour, but it's pretty dark," she told us.

Tragically, her Invisible Jet will not be along for the ride...

Wonder Woman movie release date: Countdown to Justice

Warner Bros has set the release date for Wonder Woman as June 23, 2017.

The first Justice League movie will follow later that year.

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