When it was announced that Joss Whedon would be helming the DCEU’s upcoming “Batgirl” on the heels of the anticipated box-office success of “Wonder Woman,” there was some excitement. After all, Whedon has oodles of cred in the realm of writing strong, female lead characters, having after all made his name with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Patty Jenkins herself, the director of “Wonder Woman,” is quoted on the subject: “I’m excited about it. I think it’s super exciting. The tone of Joss’ work is great for female superheroes. He takes such a fun approach and I think he’ll have fun in the DC universe, which will be excited to have him.”
Recent events, however, cast a shadow over the “Batgirl” prospects as a feminist follow-up to “Wonder Woman.” It’s common knowledge that about a decade ago, Whedon came very close to directing a Wonder Woman film for Warner Bros based on a script that he had written. Said script has now allegedly been leaked online and has become fodder for internet outrage regarding its treatment of Diana Prince herself.
READ MORE: Patty Jenkins Explains “Mixed Feelings” About All-Women ‘Wonder Woman’ Screenings
In a thread that has since gone viral, Twitter user @_sashayed has compiled a tweetstorm of Whedon’s Wonder Woman offenses, complete with multiple screenshots of the script. She begins by pointing out the fact that Whedon’s script begins focused not on a female character, but on Steve Trevor (played in Jenkins’ film by Chris Pine).
https://twitter.com/_sashayed/status/875488010279804928
Some more of her observations:
https://twitter.com/_sashayed/status/875488376329306116
https://twitter.com/_sashayed/status/875490271168999428
https://twitter.com/_sashayed/status/875491151507279872
It didn’t take long before a line was drawn between Whedon’s questionable take on Wonder Woman and his upcoming “Batgirl” project:
https://twitter.com/atomicwick/status/875559851220320257
https://twitter.com/IWriteAllDay_/status/875559748074123264
Whedon’s own statements since the announcement of “Batgirl” have done nothing to assuage the discomfort surrounding his questionable take on Wonder Woman; upon being asked why he chose to make a film about this particular character, he said: “She came up, and I started getting obsessed with how a young woman could get hardcore enough to need to put on the cowl. Like, what’s her damage?” he told THR.
Here’s hoping that in the intervening years, Whedon’s approach to female superheroes has evolved more than that quote indicates.
The full Whedon “Wonder Woman” script, though not officially confirmed as legit, is available to read for full context, as @_sashayed eventually notes:
https://twitter.com/_sashayed/status/875486374782173184
Some are coming to the director’s defense, mentioning a piece a speech he gave about strong female characters, even if some are arguably dealing in false analogies.
https://twitter.com/scottEweinberg/status/875933398245789697
https://twitter.com/astro_noms/status/876160750770946058
https://twitter.com/scottderrickson/status/876188869678448640
https://twitter.com/AlishaGrauso/status/875816277813547008
https://twitter.com/TheHazelHayes/status/875999195676762112
Bear in mind: many are challenging the veracity of this script and asking whether it’s a first draft (first drafts have a tendency to be… well, bad). And some have asserted the only script you can judge is a final version. Not to mention the fact that Warner Bros. never actually made the film, presumably due to some of the issues raised here. Check out the full Twitter swirl around Whedon’s “Wonder Woman” below.
https://twitter.com/i/moments/875794754612625408
Yes, by all means build a Hurricane about something that never happened.
The “Interwebs” are surely desperate for Tweet fodder aren’t they ? What, was it a
slow Trump Tweet / news release day ?
It never happened in more ways than one. Whedon himself has pointed out that he never got the chance to write an actual script, because Warner Bros. decided to part ways with him after reading an outline. In other words, that script people are getting mad about is most likely a fake.
It’s very revealing how much outrage people into films about comic-book superheroes. I could understand if this were about Joan of Arc or Madame Curie, real women who actually have had an impact on history.
But a comic-book character? Oh, by the way, how do “feminist” comic-book fans handle the impolitic notion that Wonder Woman was created by a man?
Great point. I also just learned that the creator of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (William Moulton Marston) modeled our sexy feminist hero on Vargas girls and his predilection for erotic bondage. And lived for years, with his wife’s consent, with his (female) lover stashed in the next room over.
No, this isn’t fake news trolling. I learned this on a recent airing of NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Where this was explained as . . yes, kinky but ultimately acceptable because chains represented women’s suffrage. Mmm, and also that all the founding characters mentioned above were friendly with Margaret Sanger. ok, Yay! And btw, I love Terry Gross and WW. Just sayin.
Look at all out outraged nerds, upset that people are pointing out how socially inept and terrible joss whedon actually is
Gotta love internet rage.
Gotta love counter backlash rage from nerds upset anytime somebody criticizes some nerd thing
I checked out of that review when it got angry that the first scene focused on a man in a plane. Because apparently that’s sexist.
Yeah this comment isn’t dumb and reductive at all.
Somebody pointed out how trash Joss Whedon is and how inept men are at depicting women uh oh! sound the nerd alarm, here come the hordes of more socially inept nerd dudes who can’t handle criticism to prove that very point!!
hey, joss? i think it may be time for you to stop courting feminists. i don’t think they appreciate your efforts.
“appreciate your efforts” lmao
yeah self-awareness isn’t really the strong suit of socially inept male nerds
Well, good thing he’s directing Batgirl….that should go well, lol.