Kevin Feige Suggests Marvel Is Too Busy For A Female Superhero Movie
This weekend’sGuardians of the Galaxyis the tenth(!) entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it offers up a whole bunch of things we’ve never seen before in the MCU including a walking tree, a talking raccoon, and a one-sided dance-off. But one thing itstilldoesn’t offer? A lead female superhero.
Over the past few months,Kevin Feigehas been fielding more and more questions about whether Marvel Studios might release a female superhero movie. Rumors of a Captain Marvel or Black Widow movie have come and gone. And through it all, Feige’s maintained the same wishy-washy stance.
In his latest interview, he says he “hopes” Marvel will offer a female lead “sooner rather than later.” It’s just that Marvel is just really busy right now. Read Feige’s comments about a Marvel female superhero film after the jump.
I think you’re right about that, and I think it comes down to timing, which is what I’ve sort of always said, and it comes down to us being able to tell the right story. I very much believe in doing it. I very much believe that it’s unfair to say, “People don’t want to see movies with female heroes,” then list five movies that were not very good, therefore, people didn’t go to the movies because they weren’t good movies, versus [because] they were female leads. And they don’t mention “Hunger Games,” “Frozen,” “Divergent.” You can go back to “Kill Bill” or “Aliens.” These are all female-led movies. It can certainly be done. I hope we do it sooner rather than later. But we find ourselves in the very strange position of managing more franchises than most people have — which is a very, very good thing and we don’t take for granted, but is a challenging thing. You may notice from those release dates, we have three for 2017. And that’s because just the timing worked on what was sort of gearing up. But it does mean you have to put one franchise on hold for three or four years in order to introduce a new one? I don’t know. Those are the kinds of chess matches we’re playing right now.
Look, I don’t doubt that juggling multiple billion-dollar franchises is a very, very difficult task. Nor do I deny that Marvel’s upcoming slate is crowded as is. But the reasoning doesn’t quite add up. After all, it’s not like they had to put theCaptain Americaseries on hold to makeGuardians of the Galaxyhappen, and it’s not like any of these issues have stopped them from trying to getAnt-ManandDoctor Strangeoff the ground.
An Incomplete History of Kevin Feige Dodging the Marvel Female Superhero Question
The explanation makes more sense when you see it for what it is: Feige’s latest half-hearted excuse for Marvel’s lack of female superhero movies. Here are some of the others he’s tried to pass off over the past couple of years…
July 2014: Marvel refuses to be “swayed by the backlash.” Also, the comics already have diversity covered.
April 2014:Captain America: The Winter Soldieris practically a Black Widow movie anyway.
March 2014: Marvel won’t get “credit” for launching a female superhero.
October 2013: Marvel already has lots of female characters.
May 2013: It’s just not the right time.
April 2012:The Avengerswas practically a Black Widow movie anyway.
Taken individually, any of these excuses makes perfect sense. Black Widowisalready a great character, with or without her own movie, and shedoeshave prominent rolesThe AvengersandCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. Itdoesmake sense to wait for the right filmmaker, the right character, and the right time, rather than rush out a half-assed movie to placate the fans.
But taken together, the pattern becomes clear. Feige doesn’t have any real drive to make a female superhero movie, even if he’s not willing to come out and say it. Or at least that’s how it looks to me. Believe me, I’d love to be proven wrong on that front.
I’d love if, say, Marvel gave the Thor mantle to a woman after Chris Hemsworth’s contract was up — just as the Thor mantle passed to a womanin the comics. Considering that Marvel has their films plotted out through like 2028, it’s certainly possible they’re looking to go in that direction eventually.
I’m not suggesting Feige is willfully sexist, or that he would never ever consider a female superhero movie. Indeed, Marvel does have some lead women — just not in the movies. There’s Skye inAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Marvel Studios has concrete plans to debutAgent CarterandJessica Jonesseries.
However, this is the same studio that decided it was going to throw Star-Lord, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange onto the silver screen and turn them into household names. It’s the same studio that’salreadyturned Iron Man into a pop culture icon on par with Batman and Spider-Man.
If Feige (and the rest of Marvel) thought it was important to kickstart a female superhero film franchise, they’d find a way to make it happen. They apparently don’t. And sure, to be fair, it’s not like their rivals at Warner Bros., Fox, or Sony have been much better on that front. It’s just frustrating to get fed the same nonsense again and again.
It’s nice to hear Feige understands women can lead big-budget franchises, and it’s nice to hear him say he “hopes” Marvel will get to launch one soon. (As if he has no say in the matter.) But it’s not enough. I’d rather see him stop talking about it, and start putting his money where his mouth is.
