Wonder Woman: Exclusive, Explosive New Look At Gal Gadot

She was, arguably, the best bit in this year's Batman v Superman – and next year, she gets an entire movie to herself. Wonder Woman arrives in the rapidly-approaching year 2017, and the new issue of Empire – on sale now – has an exclusive, explosive look.

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"What motivates her is philosophical," explains director Patty Jenkins on the truly wondrous Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), seen here on the World War I battlefield. "She isn't just taking out bad guys or fighting crime. She believes in goodness and love. [She] is fierce and willing to fight, but only to protect a better vision for mankind. Hers is really a coming-of-age story."

Jenkins also went some way to explain the World War I setting. "My approach was to focus on telling the story of mechanised war and how that would look to a god visiting our world for the first time," Jenkins explains. "[I wanted the audience to understand the horrors that a war on this scale makes possible and how shocking that would be to someone who comes with a strong sense of honour and justice. She doesn't realise yet just how senselessly dark the world can be."

For much more on Wonder Woman – and several other wondrous films due in 2017 – be sure to pick up a copy of the monster-sized new issue of Empire, arriving in all good and evil newsagents from December 29. Want to get exclusive subscriber-only covers delivered days before everyone else? You’ll want to subscribe to Empire{ =nofollow}. Wonder Woman, meanwhile, arrives in cinemas in June 2017.