{alltv} 'McBeal' boss tackles 'Wonder Woman'

Friday, October 1, 2010

{alltv} 'McBeal' boss tackles 'Wonder Woman'

LOS ANGELES – Wonder Woman is still heading to the screen, but instead of coming to a theatre 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.

Warner Bros. had no comment.