CW Casting Sheet For “Amazon” Revealed; Warning Sign?

Deadline has reported that the CW is moving forward on casting the lead role in the CW’s previously announced pilot Amazon, based on the early years of Wonder Woman. The good news? The sheet calls for a woman 5’8 and up. So they will cast tall.

The news giving me a red flag?

Take a deep breath.

Unlike Smallville and Arrow based, respectively on the early years of Clark Kent and Oliver Queen, the lead character in Amazon will NOT share the name of her comic character’s. Based on the casting sheet, there is no Diana in this; the character is named Iris.

IRIS.

Let me more specific: after 70 years there is a proposal to change the first name of Wonder Woman.

Comics only dared to change her origin. TV it seems will attempt to change her name.

I told you to take a deep breath.

Here’s the breakdown via Deadline:

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.”

This sounds a lot like the way Wonder Woman was introduced in the new 52’s Justice League. And in the animated movie.

Except, you know, her name was still Diana.

I want to be positive about this. I would love to have a good show about Wonder Woman. While I’ve had mixed feelings on the writer attached to the show, I cannot deny that Allen Heinberg likes the character. 

But changing the first name of Wonder Woman is an absolutely ridiculous idea. What purpose, what gain does a show get from changing “Diana” into “Iris”? 

They didn’t change Oliver Queen’s name. They didn’t change Clark Kent’s name. Why this?

Perhaps this Wonder Woman isn’t the one from comics.

Perhaps this is just another woman who will be given the same background as Wonder Woman. 

But then that’s not really Wonder Woman is it? Sure there were rumors that Batman might not be Bruce Wayne in the Justice League movie but there were three movies of Bruce Wayne being Batman leading up to it.

I think it is fair to ask the iconic Wonder Woman get at least one live action property for the first time in 30 years before they did this. And yes I am well aware there have been “fill-in” Wonder Woman used as short term plot devices. 

It doesn’t change the fact that the iconic Wonder Woman’s name is Diana.

The show is still a long way from getting made and the pilot hasn’t been given the green light to film. But the casting is a sign it could be.

There is time to fix this; I truly hope they do.

Why is this so hard?

UPDATE: Johns said she will be Diana, “Iris” is a code name.