Following DC’s recent massive slate announcement, news has started to trickle out about the movies we’ll be seeing, and there’s a doozy of a news story about the planned Wonder Woman solo movie.
THR noted in a larger piece that Warner Bros is “seeking a female helmer for Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman.”
Now, of course “seeking” doesn’t necessarily translate as “definitely going to hire” but it’s an encouraging move on the studio’s part to look for a female director to direct the first female superhero movie since Catwoman, and what could reasonably be described as the biggest female superhero movie.
The last time a woman was set to go behind the camera on one of these, it was Monster‘s Patty Jenkins on Thor: The Dark World, and she left the project to be replaced by Alan Taylor. In the indie world, the Soska sisters are directing the Painkiller Jane movie, and it’s safe to assume there’ll be a good deal more freedom for them.
Hopefully this is a first step to a better state of affairs for female helmers in the comic book movie world, rather than a stand-alone piece of calculated fan-appeasement. It’s important that DC and Marvel continue to push for diversity both in front of and behind the camera.
While it’s awesome to hear that Wonder Woman‘s first solo outing might be directed by a woman, we hope that it isn’t the only one. Let’s hope that the thinking isn’t “Get a lady director for the film about a lady,” let’s hope they have an excellent director in mind for the job. There are plenty of female directors out there who could deliver a brilliant Wonder Woman film, and there are plenty of female directors who could deliver a kick-ass Batman film, or a Superman film, or a Justice League movie. Lest we forget, looking over at Marvel for a second, Lexi Alexander already made an awesome Punisher film, even if nobody saw it.
Imagine a Kathryn Bigelow Batman movie for a moment. Now, that would be something. Or a Kimberly Peirce Azrael, or a Debra Granik Swamp Thing…
We’re certainly excited to see who is chosen. DC have traditionally gone with big guns like Nolan and Snyder, while Suicide Squad‘s David Ayer is at the peak of his powers following Fury and End Of Watch (we’ve yet to see Sabotage, so we can’t comment on that one…) Will they continue to go for established big-budget movie talent, or will they go the Marvel route?
Who would you like to see behind the camera for Wonder Woman?
Wonder Woman will be released in 2017. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice will be released on 6 May 2016. Read our interview with Lexi Alexander about the plight of female directors in action movies and her comic book movie experience here. For more on the comics that have inspired the movie, pick up our 100 All-Time Greatest Comics bookazine now!
