Michelle MacLaren will direct the "Wonder Woman" movie Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Zach Snyder/Twitter/Warner Bros. The upcoming "Wonder Woman" film officially has a director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Michelle MacLaren will develop and direct the film, which is due out in 2017 from Warner Bros. with Israeli actress Gal Gadot in the title role. Gadot will make her first appearance as the Amazonian superhero in 2016's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." MacLaren was reportedly a top choice for the project because of her work on "Game of Thrones" and "The Walking Dead," though she may be best known for directing and executive producing the beloved "Breaking Bad." Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Charles Roven are producing the film. As The Verge notes, MacLaren is the second female director to ever helm a superhero movie, following Lexi Alexander in 2008 with "The Punisher: War Zone." The studio met with several women directors because, THR reports, there was "pressure from within to hire a woman for the job as the character has such a strong association with the notion of female empowerment." Also considered were Jennifer Kent, who directed 2014's "The Babadook," and Lesli Linka Glatter, a director and co-executive producer of "Homeland." A Wonder Woman movie has been in development on and off for nearly 20 years. The last director attached was Joss Whedon, who dropped out in 2007.