In’s and Out’s of WW and Flash

According to Sci Fi Wire –

Wonder Woman News

Joss Whedon, who had been developing a big-screen adaptation of DC Comics superhero Wonder Woman for Warner Brothers and Silver Pictures, parted ways with the studio and production company on the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly) announced the news on Feb. 2 on the Whedonesque.com fan Web site.

“I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked,” Whedon wrote. “Hey, not that complicated. Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that’s never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. I don’t think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.”

Whedon came on board the project in March 2005 and was paid $2 million-$3 million to develop and write the adaptation, which Joel Silver is producing, the trade paper reported. He also was attached to direct.

Last week, Warner bought a Wonder Woman script from newcomers Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland that the two wrote on spec as a writing sample to win other assignments. Even though the studio said it was taking the spec off the market to protect itself against the possibility that any similarities between the scripts could be fodder for future legal action, it clearly liked certain elements in the new screenplay.

Whedon’s take on the Amazonian princess set the tale in the present. In contrast, Jennison and Strickland’s script is set during World War II, the era when the character was created. Sources told the trade paper that Silver and the studio are not interested in making a period picture.

Whedon is working on Goners, a thriller he is attached to direct for Universal Pictures and will be writing Runaways, a comic series about super-powered teens, for Marvel Comics. He is also overseeing a new storyline of Buffy for Dark Horse Comics.

Flash News

David Goyer has quit, and Shawn Levy has stepped on board to direct Warner Brothers’ The Flash, the big-screen adaptation of the DC Comics superhero, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Levy’s decision to get involved in the project is his first move since the successful release of his Night at the Museum, a $225 million box-office smash. Charles Roven and Alex Gartner are producing Flash. It is believed that Levy will act in a producing capacity as well.

Goyer (Batman Begins) had been set to write, direct and produce the screen adaptation. But Goyer quietly left the project several months ago, though it was not until Feb. 2 that he announced his departure on his MySpace.com page.

“For the record, the script did involve both Barry and Wally as the Flash,” Goyer wrote. “I wanted to showcase the legacy aspect of the hero—as that was something that hadn’t been explored yet in film. Like Batman Begins, the script drew on some seminal comic-book runs (Mike Baron, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns).” Goyer is an avowed comics fan.

The Flash was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. He first appeared in Flash Comics number one in 1940. In comics lore, there have been four incarnations of the scarlet speedster, who has remained one of DC’s most popular characters. He has ability to run and move extremely fast, use superhuman reflexes and violate certain laws of physics, like time travel.

Levy will oversee the writing of the new draft, and it is believed elements of Goyer’s script will be used in the development process.