Patty Jenkins was “obsessed” with the No Man’s Land scene in “Wonder Woman,” and same
Pop quiz: Which parts of Wonder Woman made you cry? Trick question, because just about every scene had us tearing up (if not full-on bawling hysterically). The film is such an empowering celebration of fighting evil with love, and we were moved to tears pretty much the entire time.
One of the most emotional moments in Wonder Woman is the epic No Man’s Land battle. In the scene, Diana insists on confronting the enemy soldiers and fighting for what’s right. She’s passionate about saving other people, so she sheds her cloak and bravely runs into battle without waiting for backup.
Thanks to Diana’s strength, the slow-motion shots of her dodging bullets, and the gorgeous score playing in the background, we were an absolute wreck. It was seriously a beautiful moment — one that director Patty Jenkins put a lot of time and thought into.
At a recent Wonder Woman press event, Jenkins said that she worked tirelessly on the No Man’s Land battle scene. (It shows!)
"I was super hands-on obsessed with that scene from the very start," Jenkins said. "I was super fixated on that scene and I worked on it until the second we finished the film. And even still, I lobbied to make changes after we had locked it completely because I knew how important it was."
Jenkins pointed out that even though it’s technically a battle scene, the moment is more about demonstrating Wonder Woman’s strong morals and character.
"It's not an obvious scene. Who is she fighting? We're not angry at the villain. It's not about that; it's about her," Jenkins continued. "That's a very certain kind of scene. It's not an action scene necessarily, it's a character piece."
Why obsess over this scene in particular? Because it’s THE scene of all scenes: the one where we meet Wonder Woman for the first time.
The No Man’s Land battle scene marked Diana’s official introduction as a superhero. Jenkins knew the moment had to be a lot of things at once: powerful, exciting, emotional, heroic, and moving. No pressure.
"The thing about No Man's Land is I fully believed that scene could and had to be all of that. I was like, 'This is it. This is the reveal of Wonder Woman. This is the turning point of the movie. This is a huge shift in her dynamic with mankind and her involvement in that world.'"
We think you nailed it, Patty. You absolutely nailed it. You too, Gal!