This is what 5-7% body fat looks like.
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure that's accurate. That's Helmut Strebl in competition/photoshoot form, at which he himself said he's typically around 4%. Moreover, he's 13 years older than Cavill, and the visual effects of low body fat and dehydration are substantially magnified in older men with thinner skin.
Cavill's body fat percentage was monitored stringently from October to early November of 2011 during the Man of Steel shoot in Vancouver. He was 3-4% for the entire period, unless everyone involved with the production was lying. Again, it's worth keeping in mind that he was in his late twenties at the time.
The fact is Gadot doesn't look like she lifts or has ever stepped inside a gym in her life, her forearm and upper arm are the same size, and if she's really 115lbs at 5'10" that is clinically underweight. Yes women build muscle more slowly than men but it's apparent that she did not bother trying to build any for the wonder woman role.
I don't agree that it's as bad as all that. Could she put on more muscle? Quite possibly, but I don't think it's correct or fair to argue that she didn't put in a lot of work. Twight moved to Israel for Gadot's training at the beginning of January 2014. She still hadn't filmed any scenes for BvS by the beginning of July 2014 and was still training with Twight as of August. The only project she had in the intervening period didn't require her to stop. We can argue back and forth over whether she looks "right" for the role (although that honestly matters less to me than how good her acting is or isn't), but I don't think it's reasonable to argue that she didn't put in the work.
5'10" and 115 lbs is not unusual at all for a model, which is how she started out. I think it speaks to the very sad reality of how designers want clothes to "hang" on models, but the combination of very tall and very thin is actually standard among models. It's what gives me the feeling that Gadot's build doesn't naturally lend itself to packing on a lot of muscle. Whether that should disqualify her from the part is a matter of personal opinion (although Diana's strength isn't the result of muscle alone), but that's not a personal failing of hers.
And if the time frame was too short than they should have gone with an actress that wasn't a stick figure
In principle, I agree with you 100% that Hollywood needs to pull its head out of its ass re: the uniformity of female body types appearing in movies. However, Wonder Woman as a project has started, stopped, restarted, stalled, been canceled, and been picked up again so many damn times by this point that quite a few people have weighed in on it, and they've all mentioned (Joss Whedon most notably) that casting it is a nightmare. You need a good actress, preferably a very tall one, preferably a very muscular one, someone who has presence, and someone who also "fits" the visual look of the character to a degree. That combination is incredibly rare even in Hollywood, and a lot of the most popular picks for WW previously had issues:
With respect to casting, it really doesn't help that Hollywood has a shitty track record when it comes to finding, casting, and developing female talent. Only 30% of Hollywood roles are even written for women anyway and they're 12% of protagonists, and women have pathetically small representation among writers, producers, and directors. That sure didn't help the numbers issue.
Gadot obviously doesn't have the muscle that many here would prefer, but again, I don't think it's honest to argue that she didn't put in the work. As to whether she's a good WW in other ways, we'll see in March 2016.
