Adria Arjona may be the next wonder woman.

Please note the lack of capitalization. Sure, the budding star is rumored to play Wonder Woman in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman film Man of Tomorrow — or maybe she’ll play the villain, or maybe she’s just publicly sharing her current grueling workout regime to get the publicity cycle bubbling — but she’s definitely one of the most talented and engaging actors of her generation. And to call her ability to bring levity to comedies, weight to dramas, and muscle to action flicks (and all points in-between) “wondrous” isn’t really so hyperbolic.

Arjona broke through on television, headlining NBC’s short-lived 2017 The Wizard of Oz adaptation Emerald City. She then hopped between the big screen (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Gunn-written/produced film The Belko Experiment) and small (Good Omens, True Detective) before fully busting through with unforgettable turns in new-masterpiece Star Wars TV series Andor and Richard Linklater’s underrated Netflix comedy Hit Man. And arguments could be made that she frequently upstaged heavy-hitting co-stars Diego Luna and Glen Powell, respectively.

To predict that Arjona will soon be a crossover movie star ain’t much of a stretch — she just followed a hilarious role in the inspired comedy Splitsville by playing a military sniper in Adam Wingard’s Onslaught, a stylistic leap that illustrates the diversity of her performances. But we here at DECIDER like to be ahead of that curve, and here we chart the highlights of her still-short, but more-than-simply-notable film career thus far. That way, you can catch up on what you may have missed, and we can say I toldja so when she fronts billion-dollar blockbusters and earns Oscar nominations.

• In Michael Bay’s obnoxious action film (I know, putting “obnoxious” and “Michael Bay” in the same sentence is an act of redundant redundancy), Arjona plays a member of a team of vigilantes led by Ryan Reynolds, whose snark is perhaps the only substance in the known universe that can cut through all the Bayhem. As the team members boast names that are actually numbers, it’s perhaps no surprise that Arjona, who plays Five, is fifth-billed. Perhaps it’s also no surprise that viewers inevitably emerge from the rubble with the tiniest inkling that a future superstar had a part in this assemblage of fireballs and cynical wiseassery — but I do recall the nutzo moment when Five, a doctor, performs hasty bullet-removal surgery on Melanie Laurent while in the back of a speeding, swerving, squealing car. Of course, Bay probably intended that to be a crude sexual metaphor, but at face value, it’s almost kinda cool. Anyway: Arjona! By no fault of her own, she’s just fine in this.

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• Well, here’s a stereotypical role for an up-and-coming actress: The Mom With Cancer. Specifically, The Mom With Cancer In An Action Movie, So She Doesn’t Ever Take Part In Any Of The Action Even Though She Proves More Than Capable In Subsequent Movies. Ya gotta do these kinda things early in your career, I guess. But this Netflix original is notable in retrospect, considering she and topliner Jason Momoa would, a few years later, end up smooching. Cute couple!

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• Welp. Arjona didn’t know this Spider-Man spinoff would end up being one of the most heavily mocked movies of the century so far. Then again, maybe realizing Jared Leto was the star might’ve indicated the final product would be at least ridiculed within an inch of its life at best, and stone-cold dookie at worst. And Morbius is definitely the worst. Silver lining: We don’t remember much about Arjona’s performance, and she’s likely content with that.

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• Sure, this direct-to-HBO-Max Latino-American remake of a classic comedy is an airy puffball of a movie, but after the Bay/Leto/Mom-With-Cancer gauntlet, Arjona deserved something more easygoing. As the title character — the Bride, not the Father — she’s charming and effervescent. And unchallenged by the material, and somewhat lost in an ensemble cast, but getting this modest winner in her filmography marks the beginning of her upward trajectory in terms of honing her comedio-dramatic strengths and choosing quality projects. 

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• I know: This ain’t a movie! But it’s arguably the most cinematic TV series ever (budget: a whopping 500 million smackers for two seasons), and it functions as prequel to a movie (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), so it nudges its way onto this list thanks to my shameless deployment of some fudgy technicalities. In this Star Wars-for-adults epic action-drama, Arjona plays Bix, a vulnerable survivor of all kinds of traumatic stuff (torture and sexual assault not least among them) who ends up being the reason and motivation for the title character to become a selfless hero in the fight against Space Fascism. It says lots — and I mean lots — that Bix is in the final shot of the series, a peaceful expression on her face, cradling hope in her arms. I just watched it and cried — again — and I swear that isn’t just because I’m one of those people with porgs and Yodas all over the house.

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• Linklater’s subtly madcap rom-com positions Arjona and Powell into various, you know, positions, and I had to pause the ol’ Netflix to grab a fire extinguisher in case anything happened to ignite. Dr. Love recommends 32 oz. of electrolytes after completion of the film. The director and his two inspired stars function wholly in the clever-funny-intriguing sweet spot, making the absolute most of Arjona’s skillset. Powell may have gotten more headlines, but Arjona is the secret weapon of Hit Man. She makes being sexy, funny, and whip-smart look effortless.

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• Arjona enjoys a supporting role in Zoe Kravitz’s enjoyable on-the-nose feminist revenge comic thriller —and threatens to steal the movie from lead Naomie Ackie during its second half. They play women lured to an island by a canceled tech bro played by Channing Tatum, who has plans to do some terrible shit to them. Arjona’s character is a nastily satirical riff on egotistical reality-TV stars who becomes a righteous seeker of vengeance, further proving her ability to blend and balance tones in her performances.

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• Long, unbroken takes and deep wells of maniacal farce define this wonderfully offbeat open-marriage comedy by filmmakers Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino. They play the husbands and Arjona and Dakota Johnson are the wives and yes there’s a mighty, mighty feeling that these two oafish males are way the f— outta their league. Which is part of the joke here, the actors improvising — or seemingly improvising? Such is the genius of this style of comedy — their way through all the baffling moral and physical entanglements of modern marriage. Arjona is a piece of the pie here, but of the four significant talents involved here, she leaves us with the sense that Christopher Guest should craft a riffy mockumentary around her. A terribly under-watched movie that you can watch tonight!

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• What’s next

  Man of Tomorrow doesn’t hit until summer 2027, and sci-fi comedy Alpha Gang just debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. But in-between those? Easily the most anticipated Arjona flick on the docket: a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, in which she co-stars with Michael B. Jordan (who also directs). Sure seems like another project perfectly suited to her talents – and one that may make her the next Oscar darling. Remember, you heard it here first.

John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Werner Herzog hugged him once.