Entertainment Weekly has posted more bad news for the David E. Kelley Wonder Woman TV project: As of tonight, all four major networks have apparently passed on the project.
The EW piece says that the Wonder Woman team will not give up on the project, though it’s “not moving forward at this time.” They also speculate that the high licensing fee might have been a deterrent to getting this project off the ground.
Already, Wonder Woman hadn’t been a priority for producer David E. Kelley, whose new series Harry’s Law premieres in the coming weeks. Apparently there had been some development in the project, as they say Kelly’s take featured WW’s signature lasso, cuffs, and even her plane; and that the project was “a serious, non-campy take.”
It is interesting to note that they say the four major networks have passed on Wonder Woman. Was this not offered to The CW, who has had great success with Superman for the last ten years? We may never know. The CW instead seems to be focusing their efforts on developing a series based on the Teen Titans’ Raven – a character who surely would have a lower licensing fee, which probably also means it stands a better chance at actually being made. But with Marvel breaking out a big gun with The Hulk possibly in 2012 – DC/WB really needs to break out at least one big gun for TV, especially if they want an impact even close to what Smallville has had with Superman.
UPDATE: Deadline.com confirms – The CW was not offered Wonder Woman because they “couldn’t afford it.” And ABC was never really a contender because of their Disney-Marvel connection. The Deadline piece says the script “may be taken out again in the future,” though that doesn’t sound particularly encouraging.
So what do you think? Good news? Bad news? Leave your comments below or come talk about it on our forum!
7 Comments
If the DC people were smart, they would let WW guest star on Smallville as a test to see how people would receive her.
I would love to see her there. And I would love to see a WW show. I would love to see WW much more than Raven.
If KSiteTV had a “like” button I’d click it under your comment AlisaLea. Well said. :)
Its odd that a deal couldnt be done with CW since WB owns DC but WW is not a hot comic property, just a household name. The comic has never been a great comic or big seller despite John Byrne, George Perez and others attempts to fix it. As nice as it was to see Lynda Carter run around in the costume, it makes no sense that WW would dress that way and the shes an amazon defense is garbage!! Shes like a Playboy bunny running around flashing her body, fighting crime. But if you cover her up, the lure is gone. She wears that suit, and its a silly show! Superhero meets Baywatch! Even though the character is well known, there isnt a valid reason to do the show or expect people to watch it. Hollywood makes alot of stupid movies and TV, so its suprising the networks are smart enough to see that WW wouldnt work. And the current comic book/movie/tv momentum, that began with Spider-Man will pop, when you have a couple of major failures and WW could be one of them. Fantastic Four, Superman Returns, Ghost Rider and Daredevil were a step in that direction but Batman Begins and Spider-man 2 kept it going. We do not need a live action production of a very weak comic property that is doomed to fail!
Tru fans know that WW is just as equal and relivant as Supes and Batman. With all the great comics that are from DC these execs need to realize thers so much untapped potential for great TV show and movies. Theyv successfully bridged the gap between old fans of Batman and Superman so WW should be no different. We are longing for a TV show about a sexy woman who can kick ass and command respect at the same time. With the right people behind it WW could be just as huge as Smallville. Besides if you big time execs wanna keep up with the Avengers movie you’re gonna have to come out with the Justice League movie and guess what….WONDER WOMAN IS IN IT SO QUIT PLAYING AND GET TO WORK!!!!!
If the DC people were smart, they would let WW guest star on Smallville as a test to see how people would receive her.
I like that idea but I don’t see how she would fit into the season though.
At the very least they could give her a cameo on the CW during the last season.
Wonder Woman needs to happen, if CW is unavailble get someone other studio. The show, if done right, could be so much more than Smallville’s replacement.