Beyonce as Wonder Woman?

There are reports floating around that singer/actress/entrepreneur Beyonce is in talks to play Wonder Woman in the long-anticipated film adaptation of the beloved comic book and '70s television show starring Lynda Carter.

I like Beyonce. She makes some good music, and she surprised me by giving a fairly weighty performance in Dreamgirls. But to me, she is still an average actress, and playing such a high-profile role in a film for an actress with a handful of film credits is a big risk.

Physically, Beyonce has the amazon-like figure that Wonder Woman requires, but she doesn't have the grace, innocence, great comic timing or - dare I say it? - sexiness that Lynda Carter brought to the role in the 1970s. Now, Lynda Carter will never be accused of being a great actress, but there is no denying it: she was great as Diana/Wonder Woman, and made the show worth watching, even in the awful second season when WW switched from the '40s to the present-day, disco-bathed '70s.

As much as Beyonce looks the part of Wonder Woman, she doesn't embody her. I think it would be a good idea to go with an unknown actor, like they did with Daniel Craig for Casino Royale. Although he had a fair share of acting credits, most movie audiences were unfamiliar with Craig, and that factor helped make Casino Royale to become a monster hit.

Perhaps one of the reasons I am not too enthusiastic about Beyonce playing Wonder Woman is because Beyonce is overexposed. She's on the radio, on music video channels, hair commercials, make-up commercials, tabloids, awards shows, and it goes on and on. Beyonce has become a corporation; it's much more difficult to buy her as an Amazon goddess/warrior.

Who knows who will play Wonder Woman in a WW feature film, if that ever happens. But if it should be Beyonce, I remain skeptical.

But then again, I was skeptical when Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond. And we all know how that turned out...