Diana of Themyscira, also known by her civilian name Diana Prince or her superhero title Wonder Woman, is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe, based on the DC Comics character of the same name created by William Moulton Marston and H. G. Peter. First appearing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, she is portrayed by Gal Gadot and later plays a major role in the films Wonder Woman, Justice League and its 2021 director's cut, and Wonder Woman 1984. She has become one of the central characters in the DCEU. Gadot's performance as Wonder Woman, the first of the character in live-action cinema, has received critical praise. Development and portrayal Despite being one of DC Comics' flagship superhero characters, Wonder Woman had not been portrayed in live-action film until Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. The character was the subject of the television series Wonder Woman, which ran from 1975 to 1979 with Lynda Carter portraying the title character. Prior to that, a loosely-based television film with the same name was released in 1974 with Cathy Lee Crosby portraying a different version of Wonder Woman. However, the character has been featured in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited shows in the DC Animated Universe and movies in DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, and also appeared in The Lego Movie with Cobie Smulders providing her voice. Development of a live-action Wonder Woman film began as far back as 1996, with producers and screenwriters such as Ivan Reitman, Jon Cohen, Joel Silver, Todd Alcott, Leonard Goldberg, and Joss Whedon attached to the project. Actresses such as Sandra Bullock, Mariah Carey, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Lucy Lawless were rumored or approached to take on the title role. A film focusing on Wonder Woman during World War II impressed the heads at Silver Pictures, but Silver did not want the film to be a period piece, despite purchasing the script to prevent the cinematic rights of Wonder Woman reverting. By 2013, with Warner Bros. releasing Man of Steel, the studio had opened up the idea of that film creating a shared cinematic universe to compete with one set up by Marvel Comics. In addition to proven characters such as Superman and Batman, the studio once again put Wonder Woman in consideration for adaptation, along with other characters such as Aquaman. DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson said Wonder Woman "has