Superhero movies UPDATE!

On Saturday, I wrote about David Goyer being off The Flash and Joss Whedon being off Wonder Woman.

It seems Warner Bros. already had its contingency plans in place for each project.

WB has already bought a new Wonder Woman script from a pair of unknowns; Latino Review reviews it right here. (Though of course I recommend that you don’t read the review to avoid spoiling yourself. I didn’t read it, but I skimmed enough to know they liked it.)

The cool thing about this new script is that it takes place in 1943, with Wonder Woman battling Nazis and crazy Hitler technology in World War II. And since Wonder Woman is immortal, the sequel could take place in present day. (The TV series did that; the first season was in WWII, and the second and third seasons were set in the ’70s.) I’d love to see a cool retro Wonder Woman movie from a fresh pair of young writers. Bring it on. But remember: Wonder Woman should obviously be beautiful, but she should also be warm and vibrant and kind and powerful. Lynda Carter brought all those things to the role. Sure, she looked amazing in the costume. But she had a warmth and a grace that transcended the tights. I honestly don’t know who I’d choose for Wonder Woman, but I’m sure there’s an unknown out there who could make a believer out of all of us. Honestly, now that I think about it, I’d probably go with Liv Tyler.

The Flash, however, didn’t get it so good. David Goyer was working with physicists to inject some cool science into his script, and I guess Warner Bros. found that too intelligent, because they’ve handed the Flash gig to … Shawn Levy … who directed … Night at the Museum. Yeah, yeah, I know. Night at the Museum has made more than $225 million, and it’s still holding strong at the box office. And maybe this guy can make a fun superhero movie, but I’m not exactly inspired by his track record. Cheaper by the Dozen, Just Married, Big Fat Liar. Maybe he’ll surprise me and knock it out of the park. Or maybe we’ll get another example of “Here’s what happens when the guy who directed Barbershop makes a Fantastic Four movie.”

So on one hand I’m more excited than I’ve ever been about Wonder Woman, and terrified about the Flash.

I’ll be monitoring the situation.