Disney is clearly very serious about their commitment to diversity onscreen. Recently, their own ABC channel was the only one of the four major networks to reject the opportunity to hear a pitch about an upcoming action drama series from Dolph Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone. Executives reportedly passed on the show because it’s not “female-focused.”
Apparently, both ABC and its parent company are renewing their focus on stories centered around women. Fans have already heard this push from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, as well as seen it with some of their recent casting and character choices. It’s also been evident in the Star Wars franchise over the past few years, as Daisy Ridley has been at the forefront of the Sequel Trilogy.
While Stallone’s show might sound enticing, ABC has decided to pass in favor of more female-focused material. From what we understand, the series is entitled The International and stars Dolph Lindgren as “a covert operative at the Department of Safety and Security at the UN. He is described as the UN’s secret special agent, a one-man S.W.A.T. team and hostage negotiator.” Stallone is set to produce and potentially even direct the project, which will be written by industry veteran Ken Sanzel.
Before the Internet trolls get into an uproar about this “discrimination,” keep in mind that this isn’t the end of The International. Just because ABC isn’t interested doesn’t mean that the show is dead in the water. If the series has any potential at all, one of the other three networks will definitely pick it up. The star power of Stallone and Lundgren alone should be enough to help the show find a home.
In any case, Disney is doing the right thing by advocating for more female-centric stories across their many properties. For years, plenty of great projects that were centered around women got shot down by networks. As such, it’s nice to see a multimedia organization finally trying to diversify an industry that’s so often dominated by men.
