New Wonder Woman Series Being Developed for The CW

Wonder Woman is getting another chance at a TV series. It was just last year David E. Kelley made a semi-infamous Wonder Woman pilot for NBC, which was passed on by the network. Now however, Vulture reports that there is a brand new TV take on Princess Diana in the works at The CW.

Titled Amazon, this is a complete origin story – what Vulture describes as being about “a young, budding superhero, rather than a fully formed defender of liberty.” It seems that, like Smallville, Diana may not even be called Wonder Woman at this point or wear the Wonder Woman costume – which would explain not using that name in the title.

Amazon is being written by Allan Heinberg, whose TV credits include Grey’s Anatomy and The O.C., but who is known to comic book fans for creating and writing Young Avengers at Marvel.

Vulture notes there is no pilot ordered yet, just a script. It’s unclear how the development of Amazon affects progress on a potential new Wonder Woman movie, which Variety reported Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) was writing – not to mention the character’s likely presence in the JLA movie. However, the potential TV series focusing on such a young version of Diana may make it possible for it to not be seen as a conflict with a different (and no doubt older) movie interpretation of the character.

While the 2011 NBC pilot starring Friday Night Lights' Adrianne Palicki was passed on, there's still plenty of nostalgic love for the 1970s Wonder Woman TV series, which starred Lynda Carter and helped elevate Wonder Woman into a much more well-known and popular character.

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Universal Prepares for Safe House 2

Universal is currently gearing up for a sequel to Safe House, which starred Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, David Guggenheim, who penned the original screenplay, is back to write Safe House 2. Scott Stuber will also return as producer.

Reynolds would likely return to star, although no deal has been signed as of right now. It is uncertain if Washington would reprise his role as [SPOILERS!] his character did not survive the first film. [End Spoilers]

It is also unclear as to whether this would be a prequel or a sequel.

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Taken Director Takes The Hitman's Bodyguard

Pierre Morrel (Taken) is currently in negotiations to direct The Hitman's Bodyguard, a new action film from David Ellison's Skydance Productions.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, financing is expected to go through Paramount. Tom O'Connor (Fire with Fire) has written the screenplay, which centers on "a protection agent who is forced to escort to the Hague a hitman awaiting his chance to testify against a war criminal and ex-head of state of an Eastern European country."

Morrel was previously attached to helm Bastille Day for Vendome Pictures and Anonymous Content, but the director has since passed on the project.

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Cronenberg: Not a Big Dark Knight Fan

David Cronenberg and Robert Pattinson are out and about promoting Cosmopolis, which means they're spending a good amount of their time not just talking about their movie but also getting hit with KStew and superhero questions. But Cronenberg ain't having it, and in particular he does not appear to be a big Batman fan… at all.

When asked whether he would consider making a superhero movie, Cronenberg responded as follows: "I don't think [directors] are making [superhero movies] an elevated art form. I think it's still Batman running around in a stupid cape. I just don't think it's elevated. Christopher Nolan's best movie is Memento, and that is an interesting movie. I don't think his Batman movies are half as interesting though they're 20 million times the expense. What he is doing is some very interesting technical stuff, which, you know, he's shooting IMAX and in 3D. That's really tricky and difficult to do. I read about it in American Cinematography Magazine, and technically, that's all very interesting. The movie, to me, they're mostly boring."

They're probably already burning him in effigy on some comic book movie forum somewhere, but Cronenberg doesn't stop there. When asked if he thinks "the subject matter prohibits the elevated art form," the helmer points to Hollywood as part of the problem.

"Anybody who works in the studio system has got 20 studio people sitting on his head at every moment, and they have no respect, and there's no… it doesn't matter how successful you've been," he says. "And obviously Nolan has been very successful. He's got a lot of power, relatively speaking. But he doesn't really have power."

Certainly Cronenberg knows the industry, and you can be sure he's had some crappy interactions with studio suits at one time or another. But his next quote paints him as being biased against comics in general, which sounds an awful lot like "Get off my lawn you darn kids" talk. That's disappointing from the guy who made films like The Fly and Videodrome -- not to mention A History of Violence, an R-rated adaptation of a comic.

"But a superhero movie, by definition, you know, it's comic book," he says. "It's for kids. It's adolescent in its core. That has always been its appeal, and I think people who are saying, you know, 'Dark Knight Rises is, you know, supreme cinema art,' I don't think they know what the f**k they're talking about."

All that said, he ends the conversation with the following: "As an actor, I would play Batman."

Now that's something I would love to see.

Via Next Movie

Talk to Movies Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN and on Facebook.

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