Emmy nominated director Michelle MacLaren will be taking over director duties for the highly anticipated "Wonder Woman" flick set to be released in 2017.

The female superhero will be making her first appearance on the "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" movie, also set for release in 2017. Along with Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, Israeli model and actress Gal Gadot will take on the role of the royal Amazonian protagonist.

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MacLaren, famed for her work on popular TV shows such as "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead" and "Game of Thrones" will be the second woman to direct a superhero movie, following Lexi Alexander who directed "Punisher: War Zone."  "Punisher: War Zone" had only cost one-fifth of the production budget set for "Wonder Woman".

"Wonder Woman" will be MacLaren's first plunge into the big screen.

Charles Roven, Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder will serve as producers of the female-centric DC-comic movie.

Development for the movie has been on and off, with production undergoing many shifts and changes over the last two decades. Before MacLaren agreed to take on directorship of the movie, Joss Whedon was involved with the development of the flick with Warner Bros. Inc. However, Whedon decided to leave the team in 2007.

After Whedon left, Warner Bros. also met with other female directors such as Jennifer Kent of "The Babadook" fame, and "Homeland" director and co-executive producer Lesli Linka Glatter.

Insiders have stated that Warner Bros. was pressured to hire a female director, especially since the character is strongly associated with feminism and female empowerment. The task, according to sources, was tricky, especially since producers had to acknowledge the fact that although women had vital roles in Hollywood, only a handful have taken the helm when it came to big-budget movies which involved CGI.

TagsMichelle MacLaren, Wonder Woman, DC comics, breaking bad, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones