While 2017’s Wonder Woman was far from the first major female-led superhero movie, it was arguably the first to truly break from the pattern of films in this category being critically panned box office bombs. Jump to the present day, and Captain Marvel is currently looking on course to show that the DC flick wasn’t just a one-off, and according to executive producer Jonathan Schwartz, Patty Jenkins’ film was an inspiration of sorts for the new movie.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Schwartz reflected on the success of Wonder Woman, recalling how the feature proved resonant with female audiences in ways that comic book movies rarely do.
“What was so great about Wonder Woman was talking to female audience members afterwards about how they felt watching the movie. A lot of the people I talked to just said, ‘I’ve never felt like that watching a movie before in my entire life. That character resonated [with] me in ways I didn’t even know a character could resonate with me.’ Which was great to hear, and kind of an amazing thing.”
Schwartz went on to argue that the impact of Wonder Woman demonstrated how important representation in superhero movies can be, before explaining that with Captain Marvel, the team sought to deliver a film that was distinct in ways beyond gender.
“I think it helped us understand how important movies like this are. So, in terms of making the movie feel distinct, I think all these movies chart their own courses anyway… I think that means making the movie feel distinct, not just from other female-lead movies, but from all the other Marvel movies as well, which I think we try to do on every movie. It wasn’t a new challenge necessarily, but it was one I think we were extra-excited for because of the nature of what this movie means to people.”
Though female-led superhero movies have traditionally been few and far between, Wonder Woman has seemingly helped open the floodgates, with Marvel also pushing forward with plans for the long-awaited Black Widow solo movie. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is set to be the first studio to release two female-led comic book movies in a single year, with DC’s Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 both dropping in 2020.
Before all that, however, Captain Marvel is still over a month away from release, but it’s clear that the filmgoing public is already heavily pumped for this one, with the movie charting high on various Most Anticipated Films of 2019 lists and earning some of the best pre-sales of any MCU flick. We’ll find out if Carol Danvers’ solo debut can live up to the hype when the feature hits theaters on March 8th, 2019.
