Good But Not Good Enough: Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel Movies Slated for Production

If you’ve ever taken the time to peruse my writings (like this one or this one or this one), you’ve probably noticed that I’m a big fan of TV and film adaptations of comic books so you might assume that I’ve been excited by recent news of plans for Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel films. And you would be mostly right. I am looking forward to these movies, but I’m left a little disappointed because, in all honesty, this just isn’t enough.

On their own a Wonder Woman movie and a Captain Marvel movie seem like a big move, a long-awaited gesture to acknowledge the many female fans of the DC and Marvel franchises or just the many decent human beings who believe female stars can carry action films. After all, Scarlett Johansson’s Lucy killed at the box office this summer and fans have been begging for a Black Widow movie in droves. As one Tumblr user aptly puts it “I’d rather watch Black Widow file her taxes than an Ant Man movie.” The demand for female-led superhero movies is out there and so are legions of female fans. With women comprising 40% of The Avengers opening weekend audience, no one can deny that women go see superhero movies. With Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, it seems studios are finally beginning to cater to this audience, but I call bullshit.

It's time to call Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel what they really are: lip service. If Marvel and DC really wanted to acknowledge female fans or the demand for female superheroes, they would offer more than just one film apiece among a slew of movies with the same old male protagonists and newer, absurdly obscure, yet still male, protagonists. I have about as little interest in another Iron Man movie as I have in an Aqua Man movie, that is to say none.  And don’t even get me started on how much more I’d pay to see a female Thor, as she is in the comic books, instead of another movie starring Chris Hemsworth as a dreamy, but somewhat bland Asgardian. Franchises like the Avengers and the Justice League may be solid bets, but I am hard pressed to believe that a Black Widow movie wouldn’t bring in just as much as any Captain America movie.

While it is a commendable step in the right direction for Marvel and DC to even be making the two female-centric movies on the slate, it’s simply not a proportional response to the demand for such movies. Movie watchers are moving forward at an alarming pace, it’s time for movie makers to catch up.