Wonder Woman wasn’t able to lasso a new home.
Sources told Entertainment Weekly that all the major broadcasters have passed on the much-buzzed about project. Late Friday, NBC was the final network that declined to bring back the superhero.
Warner Bros. TV was actively shopping a script from David E. Kelley that updated the period tale about an Amazon princess who battled Nazis and other bad guys during World War II. One source close to the project said the Wonder Woman team won’t give up on the project, even though it’s “not moving forward at this time.”
One factor may have been the projected cost of rebooting the series, with the studio requiring a rich license fee to bring the iconic character back to life (in other words, nobody wanted it to be another Bionic Woman). The cost means that it’s unlikely a cable network could step up and foot the bill.
The character was last seen on the small screen in the 1970s series that starred Lynda Carter. Kelley’s take incorporated the superhero’s signature lasso, cuffs, and plane in the script, and insiders said it was a serious, non-campy take on the DC Comics character. For years, various writers and producers (including Joss Whedon) have tried to bring back Wonder Woman, but the character has proved difficult to resurrect.
Original Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter has ordered Megan Fox to stop "trashing" the superhero after the actress branded the character "lame".
TV bosses are planning to revive Wonder Woman, originally played by Carter in the 1970s, for a new small screen outing and Fox was said to be one of the actresses in contention for the role.
The Transformers beauty spoke out about the rumors, insisting she would never play such a part, telling Britain's FHM magazine, "She's lame. She flies around in an invisible jet, but she's not invisible. I don't get it."
And Carter admits she was annoyed by Fox's comments. She tells Fox news, "Megan Fox actually kind of trashed Wonder Woman. She said she thought it was dumb, like ‘What’s the big whoop making people tell the truth.’
"I like her, I just thought she shouldn’t trash Wonder Woman.”
But Carter is backing the idea of a new TV show, insisting Ally McBeal producer David E. Kelly is the ideal choice to develop the series.
She adds, "He’s great at the underlying comedy and character development. I spoke to him several weeks ago and he is perfect for it because he will really give the characters life. It’s not just going to be a cartoon or a comic book thing, which is really what I think we tried to do."
Wonder Woman is still heading to the screen, but instead of coming to a theater near you, the Amazon princess is returning to television.
Warner Bros. Television is developing a modern-day reboot of the classic DC comic book heroine and has lassoed an unlikely talent to potentially write and produce the superhero project: David E. Kelley, the showrunner behind legal dramas such as "Ally McBeal," "Boston Legal" and "The Practice."
The news comes after nearly a decade of attempts by Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver to launch a big-screen version. Actresses ranging from Angelina Jolie to Beyonce Knowles to Megan Fox have thrown their hat in the ring for the starring role at one time or another.
In 2005, Warner Bros. announced Joss Whedon would write and direct the film adaptation. But Whedon said he never ended up being able to finish the draft, and two years later left the project.
"They just didn't like my take," Whedon said at the time. "It's pretty simple." (He is back in the superhero world, though, prepping "The Avengers" for a winter shoot).
Any new "Wonder Woman" won't likely have an easy road to the small screen either.
Though the 1975-79 TV series starring Lynda Carter remains the most memorable version of the character in pop culture, major networks have struggled to make female-driven action series work beyond NBC's "Heroes."
NBC's "Bionic Woman," which also is best known for its 1970s TV version, could haunt attempts to get a series launch, and Fox's "Dollhouse" struggled during its two seasons on Fox.
But if any place exists for a female-driven superhero series, it would be in TV land not film. While movies like "Daredevil" spin-off "Elektra," starring Jennifer Garner, bombed on the big screen, the small screen has been home to hits such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a character which first failed as a movie, and "Alias," the spy series that starred Garner.
Original Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter has slammed reports she branded Sandra Bullock "too old" to play the superhero siren in a big screen remake - insisting the Oscar winner would be "great" in the role.
A host of A-list ladies have been tipped to take over from Carter, who starred in the 1970s TV show, in Joss Whedon's movie revival, including Megan Fox, Eliza Dushku and Beyonce Knowles.
But when Bullock was suggested for the lead, Carter was rumored to have slated The Blind Side actress - insisting a younger star should take on the action role.
But Carter is adamant she never made the comments - and would love to see Bullock front the film.
Speaking on TV show Good Morning L.A., she says, "There was an idea that Sandra Bullock should play Wonder Woman and I think it's a great idea. She's exactly the kind of a personality and somehow it got messed around that I had said she was too old. That's nonsense, it wasn't true. She's strong and feminine. And Wonder Woman has to be accessible."
Lynda Carter has officially passed the Wonder Woman baton to actress Eliza Dushku, insisting she'd make a great comic book heroine.
Carter, who played the iconic character on TV in the 1970s, insists the world needs a new Wonder Woman - and if reports suggesting director Joss Whedon is set to launch a new franchise with Dushku are correct, the original star would be thrilled.
She stated, "I've always liked Joss, and Eliza would make a great Wonder Woman."
Carter has even offered her services to help groom the next Wonder Woman.
She adds, "People worry about, 'I really helped with this movie and I didn't get paid,' which I could care less about. People don't usually contact the original people to find things out because they're afraid of being sued claiming it was their idea. I hope if they make the movie it makes a bajillion (millions) dollars, which means they'll continue to make them."
Wonder Woman wasn’t able to lasso a new home.
