It really shouldn't be this hard, should it?
According to Deadline, the CW network's pilot Amazon, based on the DC Comics character Wonder Woman, has been rolled/delayed into the next pilot season and won't debut this fall as planned. The CW finished its pilot orders and picked up eight potential new series, but Amazon was not among them. However, the site claims that the CW may order an off-cycle pilot so that production can move ahead sooner if the network likes the final script.
The Hollywood Reporter claims they weren't happy with the earlier version from writer Allan Heinberg, who previously wrote the Wonder Woman story arc "Who is Wonder Woman?" for DC Comics. The drama series was described as an origin for Diana of Themyscira, set in present day during the character's early days as a hero. The original casting sheet described Diana (using the false name of Iris) as follows:
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.
Earlier this month, the CW had begun the process of casting for the series, with Being Human (UK) and Torchwood actress Amy Manson rumored for the part of Diana.
The delay of the Amazon pilot follows on recent failed attempts to bring Wonder Woman to both the small and big screen. In 2005, director Joss Whedon was lined up to helm a Wonder Woman movie for Warner Bros., which fell apart and Whedon moved on to direct the very successful film adaptation of The Avengers for Marvel Studios. And in 2011, Friday Night Lights actress Adrianne Palicki starred as Wonder Woman in a TV pilot for NBC from producer David E. Kelley, which was very poorly received and not picked up by the network. Another movie attempt by Warner Bros. was reported in June of 2012, with Green Lantern screenwriter Michael Goldenberg hired for the project that may have been shelved for the character's inclusion in a Justice League movie.