When Wonder Woman premiered last month, some audiences were greeted a mysterious 30-second teaser for an unidentified movie. We soon figured out that movie was Annapurna’s Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, a biopic about the secret life of Wonder Woman creator William Marston, who wrote under the pen name Charles Moulton.
Ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, Annapurna has published the first full trailer for the movie, making it abundantly clear the film will focus on Marston’s polyamorous relationship with his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and their secondary partner, Olive Byrne. Before his passing in 1947, Marston spoke about how important both Holloway and Byrne were to the creation of Wonder Woman, with the latter being credited as an inspiration for the character.
Based on the trailer above, it appears that most of the film will focus on Marston’s personal life, which at the time was heavily frowned upon. While polyamorous relationships and non-monogamy have become more accepted in the present day, it was considered a sinful act at the time. It was only in the 1920s and 1930s that the concept of dating began to catch on.
Beyond Marston’s relationship with the women, the film will also explore the blowback he received from publishers and academics for the themes present in Wonder Woman comics. Themes of BDSM and violence that appeared in the comic were questioned, but Marston stood by his belief that young women and girls should have a strong female superhero to look up to.
“Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness,” Marston wrote in a 1943 issue of The American Scholar. “The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women will be released on Oct. 27.
