Why Marvel took so long to trust a woman to lead one of its movies again
- When 2004’s Catwoman and 2005’s Elektra tanked, they did little to promote the idea of female-led superhero films to movie executives
- But with the success of 2017’s Wonder Woman, and this week’s release of Captain Marvel, we could see a whole new wave of female superheroes
It’s been 14 years since a Marvel Comics female superhero headlined her own movie. The film was Fox’s Elektra, starring Jennifer Garner as the title fighter, and the release bombed so badly that it apparently scared off at least one Marvel executive from giving another superpowered woman the solo spotlight.
Until now.
This week, Disney and Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel officially opens, starring Oscar-winning Brie Larson as the Air Force pilot whose DNA becomes combined with that of an alien after a crash. Industry projections say the movie could have a US debut north of US$100 million – possibly topping the US$103 million opening of DC’s smash Wonder Woman two years ago.
If Captain Marvel succeeds commercially, if not critically, the long-standing question from many fans and industry experts could rise to a new pitch: what took Marvel so long to stop relying only on testosterone to lead its movies?
Many observers don’t readily fault Kevin Feige, who has been the producer or executive producer on such franchises as Fox’s X-Men and Sony’s Spider-Man. He has helped lead several dozen superhero films, with Elektra being the only one that had starred a solo female superhero. Since launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008’s Iron Man, the Marvel Studios president has guided his superhero releases to US$17.5 billion in global gross – and not a single title has tanked.
Now Feige is betting that Captain Marvel, the first of the universe’s 21 films to star a solo woman, will achieve historic success for the studio.