Wonder Woman: Chris Pine officially cast as love interest of lead Gal Gadot

Chris Pine has officially been cast alongside Gal Gadot in upcoming DC film Wonder Woman. It had been rumoured for a while that the Into The Woods star may have been in negotiations with studio heads to star in the picture but this is the first time the news has been confirmed.

The 34-year-old has come aboard to play Captain Steve Trevor, the primary love interest of Wonder Woman, according to The Wrap. In his comic-book origins, Trevor was a Second World War, United States Air Corps intelligence officer whose plane crashed on Paradise Island, home to the native Amazons (a group of powerful women, based on Greek mythology).

Nursed back to health by tribe princess Diana, a romance soon blossomed between the pair, leading her to follow him back to the outside world when he returned to it. The move subsequently led to her becoming lasso-slinging Wonder Woman, as well as his co-worker, Diana Prince.

Trevor will undoubtedly have much more to his storyline than simply being a relationship opportunity for Prince within this interpretation, given Pine's experience with fantasy/sci-fi genre, but at the moment Jason Fuch's script remains completely under wraps.

A few months ago, there had been rumours that Pine's suspected involvement with Wonder Woman was originally orchestrated as a distraction from the truth that he was actually up for a role in Warner Bros's upcoming Green Lantern Corps, but now that theory has proven to be false – although who is to say the Star Trek actor will not feature in both movies?

Fast & Furious 6 actress Gadot was confirmed to be playing Princess Diana of Themyscira/Wonder Woman in the standalone film way back in 2013, and Pine is the first cast member aside from her, to be officially announced.

Wonder Woman will see the Israeli actress reprise the role after first being seen in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice. After her character's solo movie, she is also signed on to star in further instalments: The Justice League Part One and its follow-up, Part Two.

Wonder Woman, revolving exclusively around the iconic female DC Comics character, will be helmed by Monster director Patty Jenkins and is set to start filming in the autumn, ready for its planned theatrical release date in June 2017. Pine is currently filming Star Trek Beyond and will next be seen in Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp, which will go live on the streaming service on Friday 31 July.