Annlyel James 
Annlyel looks ahead to a wonderful year of superhero movies featuring powerful women
Let’s think about the comic book movies that we have come to expect in the past few decades. Batman movies, Superman movies, Spider-Man movies, X-Men movies, and, in the last decade, plenty of fascinating Marvel and DC Comics movies. Now, let’s think about, in the span of over four decades, the number of comic book films helmed by a woman.
There aren’t many to think of are there?
Halle Berry starred in the famously horrendous rendition of a Catwoman movie in 2004. There was that Elektra movie in 2005 starring Jennifer Garner which I actually, believe it or not, thoroughly enjoyed. And then, as Hollywood noted that both of these comic book movies, led by women, bombed at both the box-office and with critical acclaim Hollywood decided to believe that a movie about a female superhero couldn’t drive people to the cinema.
In 2017, Wonder Woman dissuaded that myth, climbing to a whopping $822 million and garnering critical acclaim from both critics and the audience. Not to mention, the three highest-grossing films of 2017 were all led by women: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, and Wonder Woman. Suddenly the narrative that women in leading roles wasn’t something that people wanted to see was proved to be a false statement. Captain Marvel once again proved that female superheroes could drive individuals to the movie theaters as it would go on to make $1.1 billion! even despite the mediocre reactions surrounding the film.
Now, in 2020, for the first time ever, we are getting three, yes I said three! comic book movies led by, you know it, women.
In a couple of weeks’ time, Harley Quinn will stroll back into our hearts in a jam-packed comic book film promoting girl power at its most powerful in Birds of Prey. In the film, we get a chance to not only enjoy Harley Quinn unapologetically kicking plenty of butts but there are four other powerful women backing her, two of which are well known to those who love the comics, Huntress and Black Canary. This February bodes the perfect time to have a fun girl’s night out by going to the movie theaters to watch a film that’ll showcase the power of women. Or take your boyfriend or husband to see Birds of Prey on Valentine’s Day and let him know who’s boss. 🙂
But that’s not the end.
This May we’ll get only the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be helmed by a woman and that will be Black Widow. (About time, right?) The prequel is set up to give us a greater idea of Black Widow’s past while also setting up the future of the MCU, whatever that may be. And, the very next month, we will get the chance to enjoy another comic book movie featuring a female superhero in the highly-anticipated sequel to Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984. The first trailer got plenty of people excited to see what Diana Prince will be up to next and with Kristen Wiig set to play Barbera Minerva/Cheetah we are definitely in for quite the ride.
There was a time, not that long ago, that the notion of three comic book movies helmed by women in a single year felt far-fetched. And now, it’s reality.
What a way to start the new decade.
- Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) is set to bring the mayhem to cinemas on February 7th, 2020.
- Black Widow wipes the red from her ledger in Cinemas from May 1st 2020.
- Wonder Woman 1984 is unleashed in cinemas on June 5th 2020.
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her own blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
