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The TV reboot of Wonder Woman is being postponed. David E. Kelley’s high-profile take on the female superhero has been shelved after not landing a deal at a broadcast network because of what sources called unfortunate timing. The project hails from DC sibling Warner Bros. TV where Kelley is based with an overall deal. The Practice creator Kelley had been looking to do a contemporary take on the World War II-era Amazon, and at the end of September, he met with the DC team, who also had been looking for ways to launch a new Wonder Woman TV franchise. Soon after the meeting, Kelley started working on a pilot script, which, like his other recent projects, was written on spec. The script was reportedly taken out to the broadcast networks on Wednesday night. Fox and ABC passed, while WBTV’s sister network the CW could not afford it. While the project was never considered a fit for Fox and was taken to the network mostly out of courtesy, the ABC pass was more politically motivated. With its empowered female lead, Wonder Woman seems well suited for the network, but word is a potential DC-Marvel clash got in the way. ABC parent Disney acquired Marvel last year for $4 billion, and ABC and Marvel have been busy developing Marvel properties, including a Hulk series with Guillermo del Toro and David Eick and an adaptation of a Marvel female superhero, Jessica Jones, with Twilight writer Melissa Rosenberg. This left CBS and NBC in play. I hear the CBS executive team was split, while the fluid situation at NBC where new programming chief Bob Greenblatt is yet to take the reins, made it impossible to get the type of license fee that the studio was seeking in order to do the show Kelley had envisioned. So a decision was made not to go with the show at this time. The script may be taken out again in the future.
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“I think Flash will be developed in a similar way to Green Lantern. Sure there are dark elements but they will still go for mass appeal to help with tie-ins and the kiddie market. Green Lantern will not be dark in tone the way Dark Knight was and neither will Flash.”
They don’t work that way. The Green Lantern film is based on the very successful modern incarnation that is inherently very dark. The designs and color palette even very reminiscent of the redefined look of the book by artist Ethan Van Sciver, who is largely co-credited with saving this franchise along with Geoff Johns.
The Flash has almost nothing to do with the direction they say they’re going with. Again, they’re already saying they wish to take the book away from it’s established tone… the same tone re-established (twice) and maintained by Geoff Johns. The same man who saved Green Lantern from comic franchise failure and is now working as their Chief Creative Officer, or whatever. If they’re not interested in observing the source material’s style of storytelling, or even the material of their own officers, then why are they bothering? Who are they aiming at? Kiddies? When the 3 key movies you’re describing as the direction of your film are Seven, Silence of the Lambs and The Matrix, kids are the last thing on your mind.
“btw Peter Sarsgaard in Green Lantern is a major villain, so of course he is a “raving sadist”. The same could be said of Voldemort in Harry Potter. All these franchises have a deranged villain.”
I meant more so in the seat-squirming PG-unfriendly way that they achieved with the Joker in The Dark Knight, except more creepy. I’m assuming you haven’t read the series or the script, so I’m going to go into far more detail on this than you probably wanted… forgive me.
Hector Hammond is basically a telepathic rapist. He does not conform to the conventions of most modern mainstream villains, as his goals are far more unsettling and as a character he’s not really about money, power or some kind of world domination. His face/body is basically a grotesque gore effect and he doesn’t really do more than obsess about doing things to women and getting back at the men in his life who emasculated him.
He fit into the film script thanks in part to more more recent Green Lantern origins as an Earth-bound foil, so the studio doesn’t have to spend a fortune on CGI space/aliens/planets every time you cut to his side plot. Unfortunately, he has far less to do with Hal Jordan’s story and is just something uncouth to cut back to whenever the screenwriters felt they needed a break from their main character. I’m not going to ruin it here, but by the time you see the movie, you’ll realize that he’s an entirely inconsequential addition to the plot to keep you distracted from complaining there’s less Green Lantern action or space stuff.
You’ll be able to hear the executives/screenwriters in your head going, “I know this guy fights super powered being and aliens, but can’t we somehow wedge into the story a creepy guy who interacts with supporting cast members and generally makes the audience uncomfortable? I know, like the Joker? There is a guy like that? GREAT! Let’s make him centerstage! Wait, he has nothing to do with the A plot? Eh, who cares! He’s creepy!”
The script used to be a total mess and more or less read as two movies that both happened to have the same main character switching between the two, that is before Michael Goldenberg and Geoff Johns took another pass on the script.
Anyway, my point is that the same guys who made a total mess of the original draft (which you can find on the Internet btw), are the guys retooling a popular character to fit the needs of WB/DCE execs, and not that strengths of the character. These villains and stories do not generally blend in with every other WB franchise in a way that make them interchangeable as you seem to imply, a mistake that the studio has been making for the last 20 years. If they continue to “break” these concepts and characters to meet what they think the requirements should be based on whatever other film franchise is hottest at moment, they’re going to continue to lose.
That’s the whole point I’m making. That’s a mistake Nolan knew better than to make, which is why he pushed for getting David Goyer to adapt Batman even after they were initially turned down. But the studios don’t see Nolan’s initiative and sense, they just see The Dark Knight spinning in their DVD player.
Great post – as a Marvel fan I don’t know too much about DC outside of Batman / Superman, but it just amazes me with all of the resources that WB has at its disposal they just can’t seem to bring these lesser known properties to the big screen.
Amazingly they seem to have done a better job at adapting the harder-sell Vertigo stuff than their big tier 2 mainstream characters!
We are over 10 years into this comic book boom that Blade/X-Men kickstarted and yet we only have one mainstream DC success with Batman. I have high hopes for Snyder’s Superman but right now its Marvel’s game to lose.
The Marvel films despite being of variable quality and different studios still feel like an overall brand (especially the Marvel Studios films) whereas Batman stands alone as just an event franchise. There is no identifiable movie DC identity to the public and that is a huge shame!
What about FX, if not FOX proper? Why is Kelley not thinking about cable? Surely he must be…
too bad wonder woman will not be returning to tv now. though surprised that the cw passed on it since it would be perfect for a replacement for small wille plus if nothing else also a companion piece for Raven. though the thing is not dead for good for the article stated that the series could be shopped around in the future. for seems wonder woman making her new entrance in other media after so long is taking its time.
Make Wonder Woman black, maybe cast that chick from Precious, and just launch it on OWN.
Wonder Woman can’t get a TV series or movie because she is not popular in the mainstream anymore, but she isn’t popular anymore because she has been without a TV series or movie for 30 years. Around and around it goes. To MAKE Wonder Woman popular DC has to first put her in popular media. And don’t bother citing the comic books. There are about 200,000 comic book nerds total (Marvel and DC). By no definition is anything they like “popular”.
Rule #1: Studio execs are idiots when it comes to the creative side of things. All they are, are hucksters. If the hottest things right now were spatulas, they would want to make Green Lantern a flying spatula. And they would call it “edgy.”
2: WW is boring. Her magazine barely makes it. They only publish it to maintain ownership of the property. The latest iteration of it is failing. Her personality is vague, she has an uninteresting origin, more or less redundant powers (basically, she’s Superwoman plus a mind-control rope), and the only thing anyone really thinks of re. her is that busty red-white-and-blue swimsuit she wears.
On 1, I totally agree with you.
On 2: First, Boring is your opinion. Many would disagree.
Second, her book as of last month was #38 in sales (source: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/19109.html) which for a comic book isn’t bad (anything in the top 100 is pretty good). Now, as Elvira notes, comics sales should only have so much clout because comics fans are in a minority, but her book is not “barely making it.” Now, I think the JMS run WAS awful and boring, but that was an issue of temporary bad writing (and thankfully, he’s off the book now).
They do not continue to publish it to maintain the property; while that was partly true at one time, they no longer have to publish just to keep the Moulton Marston Estate from getting her IP (otherwise, I wish they would: I bet their Estate could do something even better with the character).
Thirdly, she was around long before Supergirl; if anything Supergirl and Powergirl are clones of HER let alone distaff counterparts of Superman. In addition to superstrength and flight (the latter of which is a fairly recent development) she also is a trained warrior in ancient Greek martial arts (something neither Supergirl nor Powergirl can claim), is a master tacticians, and has the ability to communicate with animals. And yes, she has the lasso of truth and the deflective bracelets. Not much of a clone of anything, really, if a bit overkill/overpowered.
Claims of a vague personality and uninteresting origin strongly suggest you actually have no knowledge of the character or her history at all (if you want a good look at her personality, I suggest reading Gail Simone’s run on her title). As for origin, being a statue brought to life by the gods on an island of women warriors–if a writer can’t make that interesting, as someone else noted above, then that’s not a good writer.
People would not recognize a character introduced in 1941 now–and they do–were she not at least capturing some fairly good portion of the culture’s imagination. Even now Wonder Woman merchandise sells and sells well. Even if some are still just fondly remembering Lynda Carter’s TV show–but then, that in itself is an accomplishment, to still remember a 30 year old TV show.
You are fully entitled to your personal opinion that YOU do not find the character entertaining. However, please do not try to back up your opinion with false statements presented as facts. I doubt, however, your personal opinion (or mine, for that matter) weigh much on the decisions TV networks make.
Is “bad timing” the new “creative differences” ?
I think the REAL tragedy here is the writer of Twilight taking on Jessica Jones. Did you hear that? I think someone just punched feminism in the face.
What an interesting array of opinions, thoughts, comments and ideas displayed here. Mine is just one more to add to the list… Apparently like many of you, I’ve been thrilled with the idea of a Wonder Woman movie for a long time. Remembering the original series very well, I love the idea of a new series as the technology now supports the concept and the way that Wonder Woman should be portrayed. I do think that I’d love to see her on the big screen as it does seem like the fans have been wanting that for a long time.
The biggest challenge that I see DC isn’t getting beyond is when doing a “superhero” movie do one that the general public will want to see! Like many of you here I’ve been a comic reader/collector for MANY years. Of course I have my fave heroes/villains too. Wonder Woman being at the top of that list. There are many heroes I’d love to see hit the big screen, but I realize that we (to comic reading public) are a quite small part of the general population. As much as I may enjoy movies like Jonah Hex, Hellboy and the like, lets face it, the general population shrugs and has no clue who they are or their originations/stories/histories. Everyone KNOWS who Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are. MANY know the Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow & Black Canary. The Justice League!!! These are the heroes that the public wants to see. Not that the focus should be about the almighty dollar, but at the end of the day, the production company, DC, the public, the actors, the fans or anyone doesn’t want a flop!! Soooo…lets start making the films that will win all around! Do them right. Have a strong Cast, brilliant production team, capable director, phenominal techs and how can this go wrong???
My only opinion on who to cast in Wonder Woman…A strong, capable actor who respects the character, her long history and what she is supposed to represent. OK….PLEASE consider Lynda Carter to play Hypollyta or a substantial role (i.e.—NOT a cameo appearance) IF she has interest in being a part of this creation.
Just one more opinion in the mix…. Thanks!
It seems to me the way the Lynda Carter series was released to DVD (all 3 seasons within one year), there is DEFINITELY a market for the reboot. I cannot think of any other show that was rushed to DVD as quickly, so it obviously sold well. The reboot is definitely overdue. NBC would have a perfect fit on Mondays for it with CHUCK and THE CAPE. I loved HARRY’S LAW (another David E Kelley show), but it just did not fit in with the other 2 series. They could show CHUCK or WONDER WOMAN in the 8 and 9 slot, then follow that with THE CAPE (as THE CAPE is so much darker and more violent). Perfect fit and ratings would be bettered on all 3. If no major network is willing to pick it up, then go the route of cable. TNT is a good choice as it is owned by WB. Syfy gives me pause because of the lack of quality of effects on WAREHOUSE 13 and its writing. EUREKA and HAVEN have both offered great productions and are quite well written, same with THE DRESDEN FILES. However, so many shows have been done poorly on Syfy (not to mention the addition of pro wrestling to a science fiction channel), that I really would wince at the idea of Syfy being responsible for the series getting made. Pay cable is a bad fit, for the simple fact that it is too popular and does not have any place for the language or graphic violence that you need to have a pay channel produce it.