It is always refreshing when someone with a position of power speaks out about inequality. Director Joss Whedon (The Avengers) has been a long-time vocal advocate for women’s rights and equality. Before he got lucky enough to direct the highest grossing superhero film of all-time, he toiled in Hollywood trying to get different comic book adaptations made at various studios.
For years Whedon tried to get a Wonder Woman movie off of the ground. He even got as far as to get a development deal from Warner Bros, however the studio got cold feet and unceremoniously pulled the plug on his project a few years ago. The frustration in Whedon was palpable whenever he spoke about the character. He couldn’t get one of the most recognizable superheroes in comic book history made into a film, simply because executives thought that people won’t go to the movies to see a female action star. Whedon moved on and got involved with Marvel Studios and the rest is now history. However, he didn’t stop his crusade for gender equality and representation in the movie business. In a recent interview with Digital Spy, he explains his viewpoint on sexism in Hollywood.
“It’s a phenomenon in the industry that we call ‘stupid people.’ There is genuine, recalcitrant, intractable sexism, and old-fashioned quiet misogyny that goes on…You hear ‘Oh, [female superheroes] don’t work because of these two bad ones that were made eight years ago’, there’s always an excuse. Marvel is in a position of making a statement simply by making [a female-led] movie, which I think would be a good thing to do. But it has to be a good movie, it has to be a good character, and most of the best characters in Marvel are owned by Fox, let’s face it!”
So tell us how you really feel Whedon! He brings up two movies that didn’t work, which are presumably Catwoman and Elektra, starring Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner respectively. It is true that those movies are often used as the rationale for why females can’t carry superhero films, but the reason is much simpler than that. Those movies were terrible and they didn’t respect the source material.
Whedon is calling for the same studio support and backing for a female-led project that any other film with a guy in tights and a cape would get. It is poignant that he is even calling out the studio that he works for as well. Marvel Studios has recently announced their intentions to bring the Captain Marvel movie to the big screen, however that is a few years away. Whedon makes another good observation when pointing out that Fox Studios owns the entire X-Men film franchise, where many of Marvel Comics greatest and most powerful female heroes exist. Characters with rich histories and exciting stories to tell such as Storm and Jean Grey, are part of the X-Men universe, so hopefully director Bryan Singer gives them a chance to shine in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.
Whedon will not be returning to film The Avengers: Infinity War. He has mentioned being burnt out from the grueling process of creating the past two epic Avengers’ team-ups. It is presumable that he will be staying on board Marvel as a creative consultant and occasional writer, but that hasn’t been determined publicly yet. The best case scenario for comic book fans would be if he took a year off to recharge his batteries and returned to film the Captain Marvel movie. In any case, Whedon has shined a light on an ugly truth of the movie business and the larger world, showing that he has the capability to be heroic as well.
What do you think about what Whedon had to say? Do you think he would be a good choice to helm a Captain Marvel movie? Let us know on the comment boards, , , and !
Avengers: Age of Ultron will hit theaters on May 1st, 2015.
Source: CBM, Digital Spy