9.13.2008

WONDER WOMAN Live-Action Film Not Dead?

The last I had heard, Warner Bros. had pretty much dropped the idea of doing a Wonder Woman movie. That was around the time the (now dead) Justice League movie was coming together. But a recent interview with producer Leonard Goldberg makes it sound like there's still some life in the project.

From MTV's Splash Page:
More recently, writer-director Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), who never delivered a finished script, quit the project after [producer Joel] Silver purchased a rival, WWII-centered script drafted by unknowns Matthew Jennison and Matt Strickland.

For the time-being, Goldberg won’t go into details about the notes he and Silver gave to the Jennison/Strickland brain trust for "Wonder Woman's" second draft — but he will discuss his broad expectations. "I can only speak for myself.… I would like it to be more current," said Goldberg. "I hope that we don’t finally wind up doing the same story again: Steve Trevor flying, and his plane crashes onto the island [of Themyscira, Wonder Woman’s matriarchal homeland]. He’s supposed to be executed, and she saves his life. Perhaps we’ll do that in a very abbreviated fashion up front, and then come up with a story that no one has seen yet."

6 comments:

  1. "He’s supposed to be executed, and she saves his life"? Is he thinking of Pocahontas?

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  2. Yeah, I was thinking that, too: "That's the 'same story?'"
    I don't quite remember that one ever being told...

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  3. I'll be curious in a horrified way to see what a dark, brooding Wonder Woman looks like, since that's the stated direction WB is taking all their DC live action properties, post- Dark Knight Cash Bonanza.

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  4. I know. It worked for Batman because that's the character, not because "Ooh! It's dark and broody!"

    Hopefully after they screw up the next couple (before WW, please), they'll understand that what makes a good movie is a good movie. Not a formula you can just copy and paste.

    Dark brooding Superman? What the hell? If they thought Superman Returns under-performed, they'll really be shocked by the next one...

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  5. The whole Steve Trevor facing execution on Themyscira/Paradise Island is news to me but I have to admitt, I does make sense considering the Amazon's history with men, and could prove a strong catalyst for several different story threads: the Queen mother feeling betrayed by her daughter's defiant rescue of Steve; the Amazon's discovery that not all men are evil; the Amazon's need for men (mortals) to help them from (insert villian here) taking over their island and opening up Pandora's Box. And using a relative unknown like Megan Gale, would make the most sense since I've always said it should be about the character and NOT the actress portraying the character. As was the case for Lynda Carter, another relative unknown at the time and now she's synonyomous with the role! Now would be an ideal time to graduate her Queen, and allow a new actress the chance to take over the mantle.

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  6. One other point I neglected to mention above was the whole idea of creating these "dark and brooding" worlds for the Trinity. For Batman, that makes sense, since his character is just that, dark and brooding. But Wonder Woman-the Champion, and Superman-the Boy Scout, live in brighter more vivid worlds. That will certainly pose a challenge when filming a JLA film for sure, which makes sense to do it in a different continuity, but a solo WW flick as well as the next Superman film, really need to stand out from the Dark Knight, otherwise, the two will lose their target audience and tank miserably because they weren't true to these ICONIC characters.

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