Things seem to be moving along at a quick pace with NBC’s upcoming ‘Wonder Woman’ television series, with the project casting both its hero and villain in the last few weeks.
Elizabeth Hurley announced via Twitter that she’ll join previously announced ‘Wonder Woman’ star Adrianne Palicki in David E. Kelley’s pilot for the series.
“Thrilled to be doing the NBC pilot Wonder Woman. I’ll be playing the evil villain. Can’t wait,” tweeted Hurley.
While Hurley doesn’t name the character she’ll be playing in the pilot, an alleged draft of the script that made the rounds last month could hold the answer. The primary villain is a character named Veronica Cale, described as “an evil scientist and rival businesswoman with a secret, nefarious plan…” It’s always a scientist, isn’t it.
Originally created for Wonder Woman’s comic book adventures by Greg Rucka (he described her as a “Lex Luthor for Diana”), Veronica Cale made her debut in a November 2003 issue of Wonder Woman. Cale was the co-founder of Cale-Anderson Pharmaceuticals and resented the ease with which Diana Prince (a.k.a. Wonder Woman) gained acceptance in a world dominated by men. ‘Wonder Woman’ is expected to premiere as part of NBC’s next pilot season.
David E. Kelley’s take on ‘Wonder Woman’ has incorporated the superhero’s signature lasso, cuffs, and plane into the script, but it is a serious, non-campy take on the DC Comics character.
Cary Elwes (“Saw,” “The Princess Bride”) also joins the cast playing Henry Detmer, the acting CEO of Themyscira Industries — the company owned by Diana Prince. He runs the day-to-day operations of the company and acts like an uncle to Diana. Other additions to the cast include, Pedro Pascal who will be playing Ed Indelicato, a police officer who befriends Wonder Woman, and Tracie Thoms (‘Cold Case,’ ‘Death Proof’) who will play Etta, Diana’s always cheerful personal assistant at Themyscira Industries.