Casting Couch: Wonder Woman

February 10th, 2011

It was announced last week that NBC has greenlit a Wonder Woman pilot by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal). Now I’ve never read a Wonder Woman comic or even seen the old TV show. You’d think that with my love for Greek mythology Wonder Woman would be THE comic for me to read, but I have no clue where to start (if anyone can tell me, please leave a comment behind). Still, as addicted as I am to TV shows, a Wonder Woman one sounds great to me and I thought it would be cool to brainstorm a bit about possible casting.

There are a couple of script reviews around (here’s Bleeding Cool’s review) and it sounds as if Wonder Woman might have a bit of a cheesy girly vibe. Hmm. To be honest, I watch plenty of cheesy girly shows, so I’ll tune in even if it does turn out like that, but I’m hoping it’ll be a bit more watchable than that.

So what do we know of our new Wonder Woman? Well, she’ll have to be tall, preferably brunette and able to kick ass. Age will be somewhere between 25 to 29 (although this doesn’t necessarily mean the actress has to be in that age range, she just needs to look as if she’s in that age range). She’ll have two alter egos: Diana Prince, a mousey Clark Kentish type, and Diana Themiscyra, a powerful business woman and head of Themiscyra Industries. Not much to go on, but let’s see if I can come up with some actresses that might be considered. I’m not saying each of these will be perfect for the role, but I thought I’d suggest some actresses more likely to appear on a TV show (side note: I tried to google most of these actresses’ heights, but I’m not 100% sure they’re correct).

Katie Cassidy

Most people will know Cassidy from her recent roles as bitchy blonde in Melrose Place and Gossip Girl, but before that she played a much more likeable character in Harper’s Island (and was brunette there). At 5’7″ she’s not the optimal height, but taller than some names I’ve heard suggested for this role. I think she has the skills to pull this off, and she currently isn’t attached to any upcoming TV projects.

Sarah Lancaster

Seeing as she’s currently a regular on NBC’s Chuck, you’d think this might be unlikely, but hear me out. She’s got the looks, the height and the acting skills to be a great Wonder Woman, plus she’s already part of the NBC family. As much as I love Chuck, I’m getting the feeling that the writers aren’t expecting to be renewed this season (have you seen the latest episode?), leaving Lancaster perfectly available to be our Wonder Woman.

Taylor Cole

Cole currently has a recurring gig on NBC’s The Event as an assassin, so we know she can kick ass! She’s 5’8.5″ and is definitely interested in playing Wonder Woman: she even dressed up as her last Halloween. I’m not sure whether she has the acting skills to be the core of a TV show, but I thought I’d include her because of the NBC connection (and because of the following photo).

Mandy Moore

I somehow always imagined Mandy Moore to be tiny (not sure why I thought that), but it turns out she’s 5’10”. I thought her guest appearances in Grey’s Anatomy were great and she was brilliant in Tangled (even though we don’t actually see her). She might be a bit too sweet to be Wonder Woman though…

Amber Stevens

I love Amber Steven’s character on Greek, which we already know is ending this year.She was briefly attached to the US Torchwood thingy, but that role ended up going to Alexa Havins. Another 5’10”-er, Stevens has got the height and looks to pull off Wonder Woman. I’ve only seen her in Greek though, where she tends to be very bubbly and cheerful, but then that might be perfect for the cheesy girl vibe we’ve seen in the script.

Olivia Wilde

Wilde is mainly on this list, cause I think she’s awesome. With her appearing in more and more blockbuster movies, I don’t think she’ll be returning to TV (unless it’s to House to fullfil her contract). Still, I think she’d make  a great Wonder Woman.

There are a couple more actresses who I think could be great, but who I really think won’t be cast. Cobie Smulders and Morena Baccarin were likely candidates when the movie was still in the works, but now with it being a TV show it’s very unlikely either of them will be considered. They’re both attached to their own TV shows and it’s only in the case that those get cancelled that they might try out for this.