Warner Bros. Starts Looking For ‘Amazon’ TV Series Lead
Warner Bros. TV is looking for its Wonder Woman. The studio is reportedly opening the casting process for Amazon, its new CW pilot based on DC Comics' superheroine, and as a result, we know a little bit more about the show's lead character... and she may not be who you'd expect at all. Or maybe she totally is.According to Deadline, even though the pilot -- written by former Wonder Woman comic writer Allan Heinberg -- is based upon DC's Wonder Woman character, the show's lead character won't be called Diana... and she definitely doesn't seem to have the background that Diana has. Instead, she'll be called Iris (No relation to the earlier Shazam-related heroine, I presume) and the show's producers describe her like this:
She comes from a remote, secluded country and until now has spent most of her life as a soldier and a leader on the battlefield. Because of relentless brutality of her life at home, Iris looks at our world with absolute awe and astonishment. She's delighted and just as often horrified by the aspects of everyday life that we take for granted: skyscrapers, traffic, ice cream. It's all new and fascinating and sometimes slightly troubling to her.
Iris is completely unschooled in our world, our culture, our customs. And she's completely inexperienced at interpersonal relationships. She has no social filter, does not suffer fools, and tends to do and say exactly what's on her mind at all times. She's bluntly, refreshingly honest. She can tell when you're lying to her. And she doesn't have time or patience for politics or tact because she's too busy trying to experience everything our world has to offer. There are too many sights to see and things to learn and people to care for. Hers is a true, noble, and generous heart. And she will fight and die for the people she loves. Iris is a fierce warrior with the innocent heart of a romantic and she will fight to the death to make the world safe for innocents and true romantics everywhere.
I have to admit, that sounds enough like the Wonder Woman I'm familiar with that I can accept Iris as "a" Wonder Woman, especially for the purposes of the Smallville-esque Amazon concept. Geoff Johns has also tweeted that "If a WW show happens her name is of course DIANA. Codenames (like IRIS) are used in casting a lot to try and avoid speculation." Which would make more sense if Amazon's origins as a Wonder Woman show were in any way a secret, but he'd know, I guess. Producers are apparently looking for actresses in their early-to-mid 20s who are 5'8" or taller, and if Arrow and Smallville are any guide, we should probably expect a relative unknown to get the job. But if you had your pick, who would you like to see in the role? Perhaps Adrianne Palicki could do better without a David E. Kelley script?