If you were scrolling through Reddit or watching Fox in the mid-2000s, you probably saw the photo. It’s a shot of Emily Deschanel, the star of the long-running procedural Bones, decked out in the iconic red, blue, and gold. She looks like a dead ringer for Lynda Carter. For years, fans have whispered about Emily Deschanel as Wonder Woman, wondering if she was actually the "lost" Amazon of the DC Universe.
Was she ever officially cast? No. But the story of how she became the face of a million "what if" fan-casting threads is actually a lot more fun than a standard Hollywood press release.
The Halloween Episode That Fooled the Internet
The year was 2007. Bones was in its third season and hitting its stride. For the Halloween-themed episode "Mummy in the Maze," the writers decided to put Dr. Temperance Brennan in a superhero suit. Honestly, it was a genius move. Brennan, a woman who lives her life by cold, hard logic, suddenly found herself dressed as an Amazonian princess.
She didn't just wear a cheap costume from a party store. The production went all out. They gave her the bracelets, the lasso, and the high-waisted trunks. Deschanel later admitted in an interview with IGN that she felt like she was living out a "childhood dream" during the shoot. She even practiced the signature Lynda Carter twirl between takes.
When those promotional photos hit the web, the internet basically broke. Keep in mind, this was a time when the search for a big-screen Wonder Woman was becoming a legendary Hollywood headache. Joss Whedon had famously tried (and failed) to get a project off the ground. Fans were desperate. Seeing Deschanel—who is nearly 5'9" and has those striking blue eyes—in the suit felt like a vision from another reality.
Why the Fan Casting Stuck
People didn't just like the outfit. They liked the vibe. Brennan was smart, formidable, and socially detached, which isn't too far off from some interpretations of Diana Prince.
The Lynda Carter Connection
If you look at side-by-side photos of 1970s Lynda Carter and Emily Deschanel in the Bones costume, the resemblance is spooky. It's not just the height. It's the bone structure. It's that regal, slightly intimidating presence. Even her co-star David Boreanaz—who was dressed as a "nerd" version of an FBI agent—seemed eclipsed by her in those scenes.
A Career of "What Ifs"
Around that same time, rumors were swirling that George Miller was casting for Justice League: Mortal. While Megan Gale eventually landed that role (the movie was canceled anyway), Deschanel’s name kept popping up in fan circles. People saw her as the "mature" choice. She wasn't a starlet; she was a leading lady with a massive TV audience.
The Reality Check
Look, we have to be real here. Despite the frenzy, there is zero record of Emily Deschanel ever having a formal screen test for a Wonder Woman movie.
At the time, she was filming 22 episodes a year of Bones. That’s a brutal schedule. She was also a producer on the show. Finding four months to fly to a different continent to film a superhero epic would have been a logistical nightmare for Fox.
Also, the "superhero era" was different then. Before the MCU really took off, TV stars and movie stars lived in different worlds. There wasn't a lot of crossover. If you were the lead of a hit TV show, you were generally considered "busy" for the next decade.
The Adrianne Palicki Link
It’s interesting to note that just a few years later, in 2011, NBC tried to launch a Wonder Woman TV show starring Adrianne Palicki. That pilot never made it to air, and most fans agree it was a mess. Whenever that failed pilot is discussed, the conversation almost always loops back to Emily Deschanel. Fans often argue that if a TV version was going to work, someone with Deschanel's "intellectual authority" was what was missing.
What We Can Learn From the "Bones" Amazon
Even though Emily Deschanel as Wonder Woman only existed for one 44-minute episode of television, the impact was weirdly lasting. It showed that audiences were ready for a Wonder Woman who was tall, athletic, and possessed a high IQ.
If you’re a fan of the show or the character, here’s how to revisit this weird moment in pop culture history:
- Watch "Mummy in the Maze": It’s Season 3, Episode 5. It’s actually a great episode even without the costume, involving a maze and some genuine scares.
- Check out the IGN Interview: Deschanel's 2007 interview about the costume reveals how much she actually researched the role of Diana Prince just for that one episode.
- Appreciate the Craft: Notice the costume details. It wasn't just a parody; the wardrobe department clearly wanted her to look the part.
Ultimately, Emily Deschanel stayed in the lab at the Jeffersonian, and Gal Gadot eventually brought the character to the big screen. But for a brief window in 2007, the "Bones" actress proved she had the lasso and the look to lead the Justice League.
To see the look for yourself, you can find high-resolution stills from the Bones episode on most major TV archives. If you're interested in more trivia from that era, looking into the "Lost Justice League" of the mid-2000s reveals just how close we came to several different versions of these characters before the modern DCU took shape.