Ripley, Trinity, Katniss, and...?
There is so much truth in this snarky but accurate tweet from CBR contributing writer, Brett White, that it pains me to admit that we may never see a proper superheroine movie involving someone like Wonder Woman. Warner Bros. has already stated they consider Wonder Woman "tricky" to adapt to film while at the same time greenlighting a Flash movie. This coming from the mixed box office success of previous DC Comics properties. For every Man of Steel there's a Green Lantern, for every Batman movie helmed by Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan there's a Joel Schumacher atrocity. Warner Bros. isn't new to comic book adaptations but they refuse to organize a cohesive unit devoted to bringing these comic book pages to screen like Marvel has to great success.
When Marvel began to independently produce their comic book properties in 2009 they entrusted the task to Kevin Feige. He coordinated the talent necessary to produce stand-alone movies for their heroes with a vision to bring them together in what became the Avengers blockbuster. This included introducing strong female characters like Black Widow, Maria Hill, Jane Foster, Sif, Frigga, Peggy Carter, and Pepper Potts into supporting roles. They've set a precedence to how they envision women in their world. They are smart, independent and highly capable. This is why it would not surprise me in the least if Marvel green lit a Captain Marvel movie, a script was in development, and turned it around in a couple of years before WB could make a Wonder Woman movie.
Marvel delegates the films to talented filmmakers and move full speed ahead. It seems at WB they can't handle multiple hero projects at one time. With Batman they appeared content to hand over the reins to Christopher Nolan and back him every way possible. It resulted in a fantastic historic trilogy of the Dark Knight. However, there was no eye to the future as far as world building goes. Man of Steel came about as an idea early in the stages of The Dark Knight Rises with screenwriter David S. Goyer. Nolan loved the idea and ended up producing and Zack Snyder directing. Again the studio put all their eggs in one basket, in one superhero project like betting their mortgage payment on a single lottery ticket. Luckily, the move paid off and MoS became a blockbuster but they also didn't have anything prepared for afterwards. Snyder, at San Diego Comic-Con, announced that Batman would be joining Superman in the sequel to the delight and surprise of fans. Despite not having an actor lined up to play Batman and claiming that this team-up would lead to a Justice League movie many are unconvinced that they actually have a plan. There isn't a point-person like Marvel has in Feige. And still no mention of the other iconic hero, the third of DC Comics' trinity, Wonder Woman. It's this lack of synergy and vision that has put into question the viability of superhero movies at WB.
Marvel properties haven't always been the model of consistency. Licenses of their characters produced by other studios resulted in duds like Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk. The X-Men fared a little better while Spiderman was a goldmine. One of the first female superhero/anti-hero leads, Elektra, was not received well at all. WB's Catwoman was another that should be erased from the history of film. Yet despite the failures of the male-led features more attempts were made to get them right or better. Superheroines haven't been afforded the same liberty.
It's long overdue for a superpowered female protagonist. Female leads have been able to hold their own in sci-fi action movies. Why should this be any different? In fact, producing a Wonder Woman movie could level the playing field for Warner Bros. If they used their resources and talent the way they did for Batman and Superman then not only is the comic book trinity complete but they've established something Marvel has not up to this point - an exciting and bankable super woman. But first here's a raccoon with a machine gun.
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