What Does This Mean For Female Villainy In Cinema?
As with all things, it will mean nothing without the proper harnessing of the momentum that has been created. Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, Enchantress and Katana have effectively kicked open the door – it is now for filmmakers and studios to ensure that there are more female villains storming through it.
It’s the next wave of films that will determine whether Suicide Squad will be a tipping point, or a flash in the pan. There is a glimmer of hope on the distant horizon, in the exciting shape of Thor: Ragnarok. This will be the first Marvel film to feature a woman as a main villain – and that will be Hela, played by Cate Blanchett. Yes, it’s 2016 and Marvel are only just making a film with a woman as the main villain – but considering it has yet to roll cameras on a female-led superhero film (Captain Marvel isn’t released until 2019), this is hardly surprising. As tedious as that sexism is, we cannot dismiss the significance of the role of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. By its very nature, that film will be a high profile box office success and, as such, will have its own societal impact.
So, we’ve got the women of Suicide Squad, and Hela, in the third Thor instalment – released at the end of 2017. What other female miscreants are possible in the next five years, though? Which odious ladies can we hope to see darkening our theatre doors? Well, it’s difficult to predict in other genres. We know that in the next few months, we have When The Bough Breaks, The Girl On The Train and The Handmaiden – all of which feature women of the more heinous persuasion. They are relatively small films, though.
In terms of giant, tent-pole movies, we know that Fast 8 will see Charlize Theron in a villainous role as Cipher, in 2017. Outside of that franchise, the giant tentpole movies these days tend to be Star Wars films, or comic book adaptations – and with comic book adaptations, we have a lot more information. Between now and the summer of 2020, there are 19 release dates booked for comic book movies that have titles. There are also six dates book for untitled comic book adaptations. That’s 25 films based on a range of readily available source material that is brimming with great female villains. Will any of them be included? Will Warner Bros, Disney, and 20th Century Fox embrace the momentum built by Suicide Squad?
Clearly, as with all comic book movies, there is the issue of having the rights to a character in the first place. As fans, we can have as many character wish lists for movies as we like, but if the characters aren’t available to the studio, then it is all for nought. It does beg the question of whether studios are prioritizing the acquisition of rights to female characters as highly as they do for male – but that’s a discussion for another time.
For now, we are concerning ourselves with the likelihood of future releases taking advantage of the current rise in female villains so, with this raft of comic book movies approaching, let’s have a speculative look at the possibilities for female treachery in that specific genre.
