In less than a month, Hollywood will finally release its first major live-action blockbuster focusing solely on a high profile superheroine. Wonder Woman was created in 1941, just years after Superman and Batman, and remains DC’s third most popular character, hence her involvement in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yet, Batman and Superman have had many films focusing on them since the ’80s, while Wonder Woman had to play third fiddle in only their most recent movie. Marvel Studios has used many female heroes from the comics, but they too will not release their first solo adventure for a superheroine until Captain Marvel in 2019. So, what’s taken so long?
According to Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman, the answer is exactly what you expect. Jenkins told Cinemablend:
“The only thing I can think of is that the genre became synonymous with young men, and so I think there was a concern that they wouldn’t be as interested in a female lead and it’s taken years for that to sort itself out. That’s all it comes down to.”
Even in recent years, as Marvel and Star Wars have taken action to up their heroine count, the problem has persisted elsewhere. The original version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Monopoly didn’t include a Rey figure, even though she was the lead protagonist. And it was either Mark Ruffalo or Jeremy Renner who complained to Marvel that they couldn’t find a Black Widow action figure for his daughter following the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Hollywood, both in making its films and merchandising them, is only now starting to discover (or admit) that young men want to see the superheroines too.
Jenkins told Sci Fi Now:
“For many years, I was asking the question you’re all asking: Why is no one making this movie? In America, look at Halloween: there are hundreds of people dressed as Wonder Woman every year. She’s got a huge fanbase, so why aren’t we doing this?”
If you make the movies and toys, they will come. It looks like Hollywood is slowly learning that, a few decades too late.
Wonder Woman hits theaters on June 2, 2017.
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SOURCE: Cinemablend and Sci Fi Now
