We learned last week that there are almost no movies about women this summer. To help out, here are some suggestions for female superhero franchises and the directors who could make them amazing.
In Linda Holmess much-talked-about article last week on the paucity of women-driven stories or simply, women characters! at the movies, she notes: "There are nearly six times as many showings of Man Of Steel alone as there are of all the films about women put together." Holmes lists a number of data in the piece to make a point, but this line is isolated. Director Zack Snyders Man of Steel is, of course, our main current summer blockbuster hit and, like Iron Man or any of Nolans Batman films before it, its focused on the manliest of men, i.e. those with super powers.
As Wesley Morris writes in his Man of Steel review, such stories are almost necessarily old news by now: "Weve reached a point of no return with the fantasy movie. The geeks, nerds, and obsessives have so completely taken over the entertainment industry, and so thoroughly know the comic books, science fiction television, and galactic film series theyre working with, that there are no new surprises left." Morris isnt isolating the superhero genre (nor male geeks for that matter) explicitly, but when youre talking about comic books and sci-fi TV, its close to saying as much. Morris continues: "Whether its Batman or Star Trek or Star Wars, the audience has been there before and cant wait to go again to find the Easter eggs hidden for only them, to bask in the filmmakers adherence to sacred texts." Like Holmes, Morris sounds a little tired. (It is, by the way, not a particularly positive review of Snyders film.)
Comic books and the sci-fi genre are, like the film industry, still largely male-dominated spaces, if not more so. The creators are men and they produce stories about men, even if not intentionally for men (and its true: girls read comics!). But if Hollywood blockbusters presume to be banking on the genre and not, say, the gender (if it wasnt so long ago that women were buying more movie tickets than men, then couldnt there be a whiz-bang 3D CGI-ed film where a female superhero takes the lead?) And by this I dont mean Sucker Punch or Rob Bowmans horrifyingly bad Elektra, which are thinly veiled excuses to hyper-sexualize women in tight leather, while they sometimes wield a sword. I mean, am I crazy? Isnt this possible and, whats more, new and innovative and desirable? (They could even be queer, or not white, but Im getting ahead of myself.)
Joss Whedon is into it! In a recent Daily Beast interview promoting Much Ado About Nothing, hes asked why he thinks theres a lack of female superheros in film:
"Toymakers will tell you they won't sell enough, and movie people will point to the two terrible superheroine movies that were made and say, You see? It can't be done. It's stupid, and I'm hoping The Hunger Games will lead to a paradigm shift. It's frustrating to me that I don't see anybody developing one of these movies. It actually pisses me off. My daughter watched The Avengers and was like, My favorite characters were the Black Widow and Maria Hill, and I thought, Yeah, of course they were. I read a beautiful thing Junot Diaz wrote: If you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves.
Yeah, of course they were.
And while the interviewer ends by asking him about Avengers 2, Whedon makes a point with his last sentence: "And back to the female-hero thing, I'm not going to let nobody do it. It doesn't have to be me, but it could be." Maybe the next female superhero film will be directed by a man, and maybe that male director will be Whedon, and Id be okay with that.
Meanwhile though, here are some dream director/superheroine pairings Id pay money to see in a real live movie theater.
1. Kathryn Bigelow is the clear choice to direct Wonder Woman, the classic symbol of female strength.
2. Julie Taymors cult status (and Titus/Tempest) chops makes me think shed be great to direct a film about Storm, one of the most revered female superheros.
3. Jane Campion would direct a great film about Batwoman, one of the newer big female superheros (and queer too!).
4. Sofia Coppola would direct Batgirl, the daughter of Gotham Citys police commissioner, and also librarian.
5. Can you imagine if Agnes Varda directed a film about the tragic heroine Rogue???
6. Kelly Reichardt would probably not direct any kind of blockbuster hit ever, but I feel like her female characters would find a kindred spirit in She-Hulk.
7. Christopher Nolans Black Widow! I can see it now.
--
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
We learned last week that there are almost no movies about women this summer. To help out, here are some suggestions for female superhero franchises and the directors who could make them amazing. 
